Berndnaut Smilde Dutch artist Country: Netherlands

1. Biography of Berndnaut Smilde
2. Creating Artificial Clouds
3. The Role of Lighting
4. Installation Settings

Biography of Berndnaut Smilde

Berndnaut Smilde is a Dutch artist and the creator of artificial clouds. While many artists and poets have been inspired by the slow-moving clouds in the sky, few have ever pondered on how to create such a cloud with their own hands. However, Berndnaut Smilde, a Dutch experimental artist, has recently demonstrated that nothing is impossible for skilled hands - he has managed to create real clouds in ordinary indoor spaces.

Creating Artificial Clouds

To create these clouds, Smilde uses regular smoke machines. However, it is not enough to simply release smoke into a room, as the artificial smoke is too heavy and tends to settle on the floor, refusing to form cloud-like shapes in the air. Smilde has found a solution to this problem by strategically placing fans in the room to help the smoke take the desired form and carefully maintaining the humidity level. He uses special devices and manually sprays water to control the humidity. Although Smilde believes that using a spray bottle can help give the cloud a specific shape, he has not yet been successful in achieving this in practice.

The Role of Lighting

Smilde also pays significant attention to the lighting of his installations. The play of light and shadows in his studio transforms the innocent white cloud into a dark miniature thunderstorm. Despite his efforts, the artist is aware that these artificial clouds remain ephemeral and extremely fragile. However, he finds a poetic beauty in their transience.

Installation Settings

To enhance the impact of his artificial clouds, Smilde carefully selects the setting. For his first performance, called 'Nimbus,' he created clouds for viewers in a specially designed empty studio with blue walls and a red floor. This color scheme created a strong effect, as the clouds seemed to be trapped in a confined piece of sky above a sharply contrasting red abyss.

Later, Smilde presented 'Nimbus II' in an empty warehouse transformed into a small chapel. He perfected the lighting to make the cloud appear to radiate its own light, surpassing even the blue sky outside the windows. The room itself was slightly darkened, and against the empty walls, 'Nimbus II' appeared as an angel descended to earth - ethereal, delicate, and infinitely beautiful.