Sculptural Installation
2022
The works in the sculptural series Cloud to Ground refer to fulgurites, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “fossilized lightning.” Formed when electricity discharges into the ground, these formations comprise masses of vitrified organic debris.
Cloud to Ground#1, 2021. Detail. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt (BE). Photo: Kristof Vrancken.
Made in collaboration with an electro-technician, Dijkman created artificial fulgurites by discharging electricity into earth collected from mining sites in Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which she then installed in a floor installation.
Experimental electric set-up to produce the artificial fulgurites, photo Marjolijn Dijkman, 2022
Cloud to Ground #1
Floor installation, variable dimensions
Materials: Fulgurites produced with sand from Genk (BE), Lommel (BE) and Manono (DRC), copper powder, cassiterite, lithium and loose sand from Lommel (BE)
Produced in collaboration with: electro-technician Lukas Pol
Supported by: FLACC, Genk, BE
The Lightnings Slayers, an essay by Galit Eilat about the solo exhibition Electrify Everything at NOME, 2021 including works in the series ‘Cloud to Ground’.
“Electricity is not only a great microcosm for demonstrating larger Enlightenment movements, but it also was the central scientific advancement of the period. In fact, many literary puns playing on the symbolism of reason and discovery were used in connection with electricity. Electricity was an obvious check on religion’s powerful hold on society. It demonstrated through Franklin’s lightning rod (not without a fight) that man was beginning to demonstrate control over nature, or at least over what once was termed “God’s wrath”.” From ‘An Entertainment for Angels’ by Patricia Fara.
