Collateral Atmospherics

Andrew Frost

Peter E. Charuk has been long concerned with the changes taking place in the biosphere, that often apocalyptic clash between human industry and intervention, and the fragile natural world of the oceans, skies and landscape. Writing on his website Charuk says that today “… the environment is on the brink of massive change. Global warming. El Nino’s. Ozone holes and rising sea levels threaten our way of life and even our existence. Thus, artists are producing work that is more urgent, more concerned, more political.” Across a series of installations and multimedia works Charuk has sought to dramatically highlight these changes.

In Collateral Atmospherics Lat. -34.82 Long. 149.40 the artist records the “…luminous, textural and fluid qualities of a landscape, rapidly changing through human intervention.” In the multi screen and audio work, Charuk investigates the impact of wind farms near Lake George and Cullerin in rural New South Wales, using 3D imaging technology to create an immersive environment. Charuk creates an experience that highlights the impact of the wind farm technology on clouds and weather, the collateral atmospherics of the title, while implicating the technology of the exhibition itself in the regime of human industry.