Marina Gadonneix: Phénomènes

Marina Gadonneix’s practice lies on the crossroads between reality and fiction, with her aesthetic merging landscape photography and scientific, documentary photography. The result gives an impression of a scientific discovery. 

Phénomènes originates from Kristan Birkeland’s experiments of the early 20th century, where he reproduced the aurora (polar lights) in laboratory conditions. This experiment inspired Gadonneix to question the artificial reproduction of phenomena that are simultaneously scientific and enigmatic in nature. She imagines the laboratory as a world theatre in this context, uniting within itself universal history and the experience of thought. It becomes a place of exploration and representation for unpredictable phenomena such as tornadoes, black holes and earthquakes; where their elements of chance seem manipulateable, achievable and reproducible by pushing their physics to their limits through the scientists’ conceptualization.