- Part 1: "A Vanishing Horizon" presents 10 micro-videos using after image optical illusions to celebrate cloud's uniqueness.
- Part 2: "Et le nuage respire" showcases an AR performance, syncing cloud animations with human breaths for eco-empathy.
- Part 3: "One Cloud - Samples" collection process for a future herbarium, inviting people to collect clouds to donate to an NGO, and celebrate their uniqueness.
- Part 4: "Herbier de Nuages" offers a 360° AR contemplation of 52 cumulus clouds in the style of an herbarium.
- Part 5: "One Cloud: Hommage to Displaced Populations" is a series of 9 artworks in reference to the countries with the highest number of displaced population due to climate change.
2023
"One Cloud: A Vanishing Horizon" is an exploration of the incarnated relationship between clouds and human beings. It reveals the delicate yet profound interplay between our warming climate and the transient beauty of clouds.
Acting as thermal blankets and sunlight reflectors, clouds embody the paradox of our environment. High cirrus clouds, wispy and delicate, visible on clear days, absorb and trap radiation, contributing to Earth's warming. In contrast, clouds from the cumulus family, those fluffy shapes of fair-weather days, reflect sunlight back into space, performing a crucial cooling function.
"One Cloud - Observations" — The micro-videos initiates with a simple task: a 20-second observation of a cumulus cloud, communicated through a mobile reminder. This cloud transforms through a dynamic gradient of sunset hues, subtly shifting - a metaphor for our climate's fragile and transformative nature. At its heart, the piece employs the opponent-process theory of color vision, creating a lingering negative afterimage of the cloud as it fades into a stark white screen. The climax is a simple revelation: a message announcing the introduction of the Cumulus Cloud. The curious will be intrigued and will start reading the text attached to the piece, revealing the impending extinction of cumulus clouds due to rising global temperatures. By elucidating the nuanced roles of clouds and the interconnectedness of Earth's climatic systems, this piece serves as both a moment of reflection and a call to action, urging us to consider our role in this complex climatic narrative.
In resonance with Sandrine Bony's research and the findings of the EU-funded EUREC4A project (2022), this piece transcends mere commentary. It compels us to reflect on our role in Earth's climatic narrative and confront the question: how will we respond to our vanishing horizons?
Pau Walder. Art critic and curator.
2023
Akin to an artistic performance, one cloud emerges with each cloud's appearance gracefully lasting 20 seconds. These clouds, scaled to human dimensions, encourage eco-empathy as viewers engage in synchronized breaths. Each time the user activates the artwork, a new cloud appears. Their appearances seamlessly blend with the viewer's reality, creating a fluid and immersive experience.
The AR performance prompts introspection on our place within Earth's evolving climate narrative. As we witness clouds' transient beauty and their pivotal role in climate harmony, we are compelled to reflect on our response to these vanishing horizons.
Spark / Instagram AR filter available here: https://www.instagram.com/ar/1648774815609929/
2024
Her ongoing herbarium features cumulus clouds, transient yet indispensable. Each cloud in this collection is celebrated as a climate hero. The artist uses a palette of emotionally resonant colors to distinguish these ephemeral forms and forge a unique connection with the viewer. The final stage of this new "One Cloud" series will be a 360° AR herbarium, a physical representation of Drubay's cloud collection and observation process.
Using blockchain mechanisms, viewers are invited to collect a cloud to support an NGO.
Interactive 3D model with auto rotation on displays
Javascript, HTML, GLB
2023
The herbarium captures clouds that are both transient and indispensable. Colors imbued with emotion serve as the palette to distinguish these ephemeral forms and create a special bond with each of them.
As the last stage in the "One Cloud" series, this herbarium is the physical interpretation of Diane Drubay's process of collecting and observing clouds in 2023. There, the artist will continue to accumulate captured clouds and display them to be admired, studied but also preserved. Each cloud in this sky's ever-changing tapestry is celebrated as a hero of Earth's climate.
Concept & Art: Diane Drubay. Technical advisor: somaticbits.
Photography, PNG
3840x3840
2024
Turning cumulus clouds into climate heroes, the artist collects and displays them for awareness, admiration, and preservation. Her ongoing herbarium features cumulus clouds: transient yet indispensable.
Inspired by Sandrine Bony's groundbreaking research and the revelations of the EU-funded EUREC4A project in 2022, this series emphasises the duality of clouds as both thermal insulators and sunlight reflectors, featuring cumulus clouds as key actors in our fight against global climate change.
Adding an extra layer of meaning, the artist uses a palette of colours taken from nine flags. These are the most climate-vulnerable countries, currently experiencing the highest number of displaced populations due to climate change.
"One Cloud: Hommage to Displaced Populations" is part of a larger body of work exploring cloud empathy, aiming to shift perception and behaviour towards the often overlooked climate heroes that vanish before our eyes.
This series has been commissioned for the exhibition "Nowhere to Run" exhibited at Space31, in Basel, Switzerland, during the Digital Art Mile 2024. This is a collaborative fundraising project celebrating digital art for good aiming to raise funds for the UNHCR Climate Resilience Fund. Online show can be seen here.