Artwork: Michelangelo Bastiani, Geyser III, 2016
Water is an element I love. Its liquid flow and flux. Its transformation through states of gas, liquid, to ice. Its fundamental necessity to life. And swimming in the ocean, immersing myself in its briny depths, I feel closest to the energy that supports all life, this very earth. We need the ocean to breathe, to support the earth’s climate, to feed the ecosystems we all depend on to survive.
Artwork: Michelangelo Bastiani, Geyser III, 2016
So I’m especially drawn to art that explores water such as Italian Michelangelo Bastiani’s work Geyser III (2016), an interactive video projection that engages with states of transformation and change between nature and technology, between reality and perception, and between the viewer and the artwork.
Bastiani states: “Water, and liquidness in general, is my preferred field of investigation. My favorite subjects are natural phenomena of different magnitude, from the most tumultuous storms to soft clouds, relaxing water lilies, cold icebergs, waterfalls, fountains, galaxies, travels to the center of the earth… For instance, an artificial lake might take shape in a room and, thanks to digital techniques, the spectator becomes an integral part of the work by simply passing in front of it, thus becoming a part of the kinetic process. Analog and digital blend in these holograms which are enclosed in transparent bottles and jars, and direct interaction from the viewer results in infinite variables. The relationship between work and observer become stronger transforming what we imagine as the traditional ‘passive’ visit into an ‘active’ experience.”