Evelina Domnitch / Dmitry Gelfand [NL]

Hydrogeny

Hydrogeny1X

Hydrogeny3x

Hydrogeny, 2010, distilled water, hydrogen, laser

Hydrogeny

Nature’s simplest atom and mother of all matter, hydrogen feeds the stars as well as interlaces the molecules of their biological descendants – to whom it ultimately whispers the secrets of quantum reality. Hydrogen’s most prevalent earthly guise lies within the composition of water. Emanating from an array of electrodes at the bottom of a water-filled chamber, strings and strata of hydrogen bubbles meticulously trace their emergent surroundings. A white laser sheet scans and illuminates the hydrogen bubble trajectories. Each quivering bubble-lens divides the white light into its constituent spectrum of colors, thereby inciting enhanced, prismatic depth perception.

Beyond macroscopically observable bubbles, an expanse of nanobubbles hides within water’s internal structure. Some researchers presume that these tiny bubbles of dissolved gas are the carriers of water’s magnetic “memory”, enabling electromagnetic fields to saturate its innards for hours and even days after their initial appearance. In the seas and oceans the lingering presence of electromagnetic fields, photonically imparted by sunlight, triggers the electrolysis responsible for most of Earth’s hydrogen. The original form of photosynthesis, solar water splitting was among the primordial initiators of living matter.

Evelina Domnitch & Dmitry Gelfand

Dmitry Gelfand (b.1974, St. Petersburg, Russia) and Evelina Domnitch (b. 1972, Minsk, Belarus) create sensory immersion environments that merge physics, chemistry and computer science with uncanny philosophical practices. Current findings, particularly in the domain of mesoscopics, are employed by the artists to investigate questions of perception and perpetuity. Having dismissed the use of recording media, their works exist as ever-transforming phenomena offered for observation. In order to engage such ephemeral processes, the duo has collaborated with numerous scientific research facilities, including the Drittes Physikalisches Institut (Goettingen University, Germany), the Institute of Advanced Sciences and Technologies (Japan), Ricso Lab (Russia) and the Vrije Universiteit (Amsterdam). They are recipients of the Japan Media Arts Excellence Prize (2007), and four Ars Electronica Honorary Mentions (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013).

double portrait_credit Anastasiya Domnitch

http://www.portablepalace.com