Voyages atmosphériques (Concerning the Blueness of the Sky)

First of all, global warming is at work there, which one hopes to weather with the 2015 treaty of Paris, which has already been described as «historic». The second protagonist is the less well-known phenomenon of global dimming; a world-wide darkening that has been measured since 1950. This is a result of an increase in cloud density, itself caused by emissions from industrial nations. In our drama the sun-retardant clouds of global dimming have, to some extent, temporarily kept global warming at bay. The growing environmental consciousness of the last decade has fortunately, however, led to a reduction of industrial air pollution The clouds are thereby thinned and the dimming curbed; the climate continues to heat up unchecked, and the sky grows ever bluer. A direct line connects this fact of climate science with art. Not only because Christina Hemauer and Roman Keller translate this issue into art in their installation Voyages atmosphérique in the Centre Culturel Suisse but rather more because the artist duo advance the theory that the technical revolution, at least as far as energy is concerned, which, indeed, brings in its wake environmental issues, is directly interwoven with our cultural history. A Chronology of Energy- and Art-Related Developments (2013) makes this interdependence clear in an impressive art book. A timeline on the discovery and use of energy sources commencing with the formation of the Earth and, for the time being, coming to an end in 2003, is placed by the artists and selected authors alongside important events in the history of art. In this way it is made manifest how the utopian and visionary forces of science and art feed off each other and influence the course of history. […]

With their project for the Centre Culturel Suisse, they showcase the drama of the blue sky. A projection of variegated gradations of blue, a DJ booth with two turntables, spherical sounds and a conversation with the climatologist Atsumu Ohmura make their appearance. The projected image shows footage of a home-made solar balloon equipped with a camera. The balloon’s construction and adventurous flight into the stratosphere alone would be enough material for an exhibition. Hemauer/Keller do not directly reproduce their recording of the blueness of the sky but rather convert the motion picture images mathematically into tonal values. Thus the «heavenly music» is created. The vinyl recording plays in the exhibition room and by means of a microphone is, in turn, transposed into the imagescape of the blue tones. Although the DJ is absent, he appears to the inner eye as a representative of humanity, which mixes the blue of the sky with its deeds. And Ohmura, who discovered the phenomenon of global dimming, explains our soundmixing handiwork. The public will observe, hear, marvel and drink their fill – just as in real life.

Deborah Keller, Humanity, you DJ in the blue sky, Le Phare 23/2016