The
journey starts with an open call of " Horizons, Arts Nature en Sancy"
http://www.horizons-sancy.com,
in an art website called Berlin Call http://www.mondaynews.net/?calls.
This is an annual event, that takes place during summertime in Massif de Sancy,
which is located in the heart of France. This region is well known for its
exquisite views of mountaintop, volcanoes and lakes.
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| http://it.123rf.com/photo_14986639_illustrazione-d-39-epoca-di-lac-pavin-sul-mont-dore-alvernia-francia-originale-da-autore-ignoto-e-st.html |
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| La composition géologique des différents matériaux issus de la naissance du "maar" du Pavin |
:source
About 10
years ago, I visited Sansy with my family. We enjoyed the lovely views and the
great attraction called Volcania, a museum dedicated to the local volcanoes and
their activity over the years.
Sansy's
volcanoes are not active at the moment, however i did get a taste of volcanic
action while visiting in Iceland with my family the last summer. Iceland is a
"young" island in geological terms (created about 200 million years
ago), and it is located on the meeting place between two main tectonic boards -
America's and Europe's. Iceland has fascinating views, which are reflected in
the primal intensity and the seismic activity that takes place and is expressed
through great gazers and fumes coming through the ground.
Iceland
is an example of Sansy active and dynamic past. I knew from the start that my
project will deal with the seismic activity. The volcanic explosion has a
tremendous strength and along with other natural calamities such as earthquake,
tsunami and hurricane, it is a harsh reminder of the nature's power and man's
fragility.
The
process started by running images in my head, which took few evening and even
several nights. The lack of sleep during the concept's formation, was a minor
problem as opposed to the long nights in which i kept thinking over and over
the means it would take in order to form and transfer the material to the site
itself.
During
the concept stage, the main problem is the many possibilities that Ii was faced
with, and the decisions I had to take - what to focus on and what to leave out.
Many times I became frustrated since I wanted to include many things, but I
could not do that.
In this project I looked for a way to express this
intensity, while keeping in mind the limitations I will have to face while
working in France, where the availability of material and resources is not
known to me, as well as the language itself and the difficulty in communicating
with local suppliers. I was looking for a powerful location in the view, where
I will dig a hole in the ground and set my installation in it. I wanted to
create a fissure in the ground, and from it the "lava" will
burst.
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Leirhnjukur,
Iceland
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Leirhnjukur,
Iceland
My initial idea was to simulate "Volcanic Ash Cloud" as a depiction of lava erupting. The first sketch was of a "field of Lava flowers", made of steel "stalks" with basalt stones which are available in volcanic environment. these elements designed to burst from a long and narrow crack in the ground.
As often
happens to me one idea lead to another and it turns into a completely different
idea..The new idea that evolves has become more profound and more exciting.
Luckily, I realized, after being in the site, that the upper layers of the
ground are soft therefore it is difficult to gather up basalt rocks for the
installation.
During
the development of the concept, along with fellow architect Uri Hillel , we
tried to find a suitable composition for the "eruption of the Lava".
While building 3D modeling, the software carried out a kind of
"mistake". A computational delay occurs in processing the data. For a
moment dense basalt columns were "frozen" on the screen. The scene
reminded me of the frozen hexagonal lava columns that can be seen in many
volcanic landscapes like in Svartifoss waterfall in Iceland, the Giant’s
Causeway on the coast of Ireland, the Golan Heights in Israel and many other
places around the world. This amazing natural phenomena occurs when due to
stress as the lava cools.
|
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| Hameshoshim, Golan Heights, Israel |
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| Hameshoshim, Golan Heights, Israel |
The image of the frozen hexagonal
lava columns was integrated with the seismograph - recording the amplitude of seismic activity.
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| Seismograph |
The moment was frozen and the final installation was
crystallized from both the seismograph and the lava
columns.
Choice
of materials
At this
time we have a brainstorming with my office team searching for an idea for the
right material. We started by looking for possible recycled materials. The
first idea was to take used construction profiles such as the L-shaped profile
for plaster corner they come in various sizes and shapes. The combination of
the smooth and perforated surfaces adds complexity and playfulness to the
installation. The idea was shelved due to my inability to collect and store
those used profile due to the distance and time limited.
I
considered the idea of using dry branches painted in red, but I felt that it
does not present the "scientific quality" of the graph. Arie, head my
team, drew my attention to a sample we have in the office of polycarbonate
multi-cell, painted red. I loved the transparency of the material, its layered
structure and its lightness. It was clear to me that it is easy to work with,
both in terms of cutting and punching, and due to its lightness. The whole team
loved the idea and I decided to precede with it. The 3D made by Uri with it
reflects the potential of the material. The result expressed strength and
prominence that I connected to it immediately.
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