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.