Part of MFA Design Thesis Project
During a conversation with Maurizio Ripepe, volcanologist and researcher from University of Firenze in charge of monitoring volcanic activities of Stromboli, he mentioned that their lab (LGS, Laboratorio Geofisica Sperimentale) created an application that shares real time data collected and documented from the volcano. Among the many sensors and monitoring devices, they also have installed 4 cameras in different locations facing the vents on the island. Each camera shows the constant state of the volcanic activity. To address the notion of suspension in time embedded in a volcanic eruption as a poetic and intimate lens through observing the volcano, I created a compilation video consisting of screenshots from the live camera in the app. For an exact hour, in four different days, I collected an image each time that the camera refreshed with a new image from the volcano. The project was interrupted when the camera SHL stopped working on the app.
The audio is a field recording from Stromboli recorded by Enrico Ascoli called: 850m s.l.m., 98050 Stromboli ME, Italy - Stromboli soft eruptions. Date: 2016-09-25 20:58:00, a few months after I visited the volcano, which ultimately lead to the genesis of this project.
A set forms selected to further realize in physical materials
Utilizing the information archive from mid August 2022 to mid January 2023 recorded in the LGS, Laboratorio Geofisica Sperimentale application, I constructed a parametric system to reconstruct imaginary extrusive igneous rock formations incorporating two parameters from the volcano. One collection of data records the CO2 Flux released in tons per day in the atmosphere. An increase in the flux indicates the arrival of gas-rich new magma from the deeper portion of magmatic reservoir, usually involved during violent explosive activity. The second parameter indicates the Seismic Very Long Period (VLP) Rate. Seismicity generated by the magmatic activity indicates the dynamic level and the explosive degassing of the magmatic system. To introduce these sets of numbers to the workflow in the parametric system, I used a Normalization to a Range code to be able to accurately map the data from Stromboli into the range that shows the change in the lattice forms in a noticeable manner. Co2 flux parameter manipulated the point spacing in the voronoi lattice volume and the seismic VLP rate indicated the change in the cube size.
One can argue that these forms carry a certain indexicality in regards to the physical activity of Stromboli. According to Charles Sanders Pierce, an icon resembles the object but an index is an actual modification of it by the object itself. The representational value of these rock formations evokes the sense of “presence” rather than “appearance” due to the encapsulation of a frozen moment provoking a sense of explosion from within and vesicularly—inherent to the natural process of gas escaping magma rapidly cooling after eruption. The use of data in this entire process is an active demonstration of a desire for physical closeness and intimacy with the volcano and not a passive act of fetishizing nature by the use of scientific data visualization. I want to create outcomes that have been directly touched by the ultimate abstract and regenerative entity in nature.
Based on the semantic analysis of the forms created, I selected one shape and further realized in a physical object. Collaborating with Eli Hansen, glass blower and flameworker, I created an hourglass using a mixture of borosilicate glass tubes and solid tubes filled with glass frit and atomized copper. This hourglass is a time capsule that demonstrates a non-human timeframe of 10 seconds as a symbolic reference to a Strombolian eruption. This conceptual object encapsulates the notion of suspension in time when observing a volcanic eruption.
Powder coat of the inside of tubes with atomized copper
Special thanks to Eli Hansen for his tireless effort in making this piece.
©21st Century
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