Esther Schipper, Berlin
2009
New works: Liquid Diagram, Cyclone
Other works: 50 Circles and 100 Circles
Liquid Diagram
Distilled water, glass flasks, glass tubes, resistance wire, stainless steel stands, halogen lights, control
units, transformers
8.3 x 0.3 x 2.6 m
Twelve installation units formed a line across the exhibition
space. Each unit consisted of a round-bottom flask in a stainlesssteel
stand, with a vertical glass tube attached. Each flask was
filled about a quarter-full with distilled water. When a resistance
coil heated the air inside the flask, it expanded, forcing the water
up into the glass tube. The level of the water rose when the air
was being heated and began to drop slowly as it cooled down. The twelve units were divided into groups of
three. In each group one water column went up while the other two came down more
slowly. The four groups combined created a system working in
random order. Each stand had an in-built halogen lamp, which
illuminated the flask and the water surface inside the glass tube.
There was no other illumination in the exhibition space.