By 1823 the North American Arctic was still the last undiscovered ecosystem on the planet.
It was a landscape so cold that it fractured everything it penetrated, including the stones. It was uncharted, unclaimed territory and Europeans had perished in it miserably. In 2015 Siobhán embarked on an expedition to explore this beautiful and vital Arctic ice, which holds a memory that extends for millions of years into the past. At the Edge of Visibility explores the slow workings of geological processes found deep in permafrost, meditating on the sentience of ice. Using a heliograph, Siobhán recorded messages and pulses as the Sun moved through the sky to produce a series of notations for the soundtrack.
Running Time: 4 minutes 15 seconds
Siobhán McDonald
At the Edge of Visibility
Siobhán McDonald
At the Edge of Visibility
Siobhán McDonald
Siobhán McDonald’s practice draws attention to contemporary topics dealing with air, breath and atmospheric phenomena, weaving scientific knowledge into her art in a poetic and thoughtful manner. She works with natural materials, withdrawing them from their cycles of generation, growth and decay. Working collaboratively with research facilities such as The European Space Agency (ESA) and the JRC European Commission, she explores nature in light of current ecological concerns.
