Every winter, InLiquid partners with Old City Publishing to curate a satellite exhibition that celebrates the season. In the tradition of holiday window displays, it takes place in their window space and vestibule, an installation visible from the street 24/7. This year, our exhibition Liquid Light shows the transformative nature of winter.
Featuring Christine Stoughton, Liquid Light is a celebration of ice. Delicate sculptural shapes hang from the ceiling, a meditation on the effect of icicles melting, freezing, and remelting. The work shows how ice forms patterns and colors as it reflects the winter light and casts evocative shadows.
About the Artist:
Christine Stoughton is a mixed media artist who works in sculpture, drawing, and printmaking. Her work depicts simple, often abstract objects and shapes moving through mysterious environments. She is inspired by the idea of change, especially the constant transformation of nature.
How does the natural world influence your work?
My work generally starts with observations of the natural world in combination with the exploration of how the passing of time affects these observations. I seek to capture the ephemeral aspect of these observations.
What materials and processes did you use to create Liquid Light? Why did you choose them?
I am always experimenting with new materials and yet to be discovered processes. I chose chicken wire because it could be formed into the jagged shape of melting icicles and I hoped its rough texture would allow the mulberry paper pulp I made from rejected prints to adhere to the structure. I chose prints to grind up that were of water colors and felt the silver of the chicken wire would help them sparkle.
How does Liquid Light reflect the winter season?
The sculptures were based on my observation of icicles that had formed after a cold winter storm and literally were two stories tall. The colors were the changing of the pastel reflections of light that I observed throughout the day.
What do you want viewers to take away from your work?
A sense of the ephemeral, surprise, and magic.
Liquid Light is visible in the window of Old City Publishing, viewable 24/7 from the outside. Open November 12th, 2024, to January 14th, 2025.
