Antipode

Berndnaut Smilde’s work, at its core, reflects the human impulse to master the forces of nature. Smilde carefully controls the temperature and humidity of a room to produce ephemeral clouds with the help of a fog machine. Though the clouds are only visible for a matter of seconds, they live on in artfully-staged photographs that Smilde exhibits among installation elements. His current show, “Antipode,” is on view at Ronchini Gallery in London through June 14. The clouds in his new photos are just as striking as the interiors they inhabit. The large nimbuses creep through Gothic churches, Rococo chambers and empty factories as if they had lives of their own, playing with the idea of a supernatural presence.