Created by Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya back in 2011, Cloud Parking is a magical installation that gave people a chance to walk through clouds or, depending on how you look at it, a heavy blanket of fog. (“Scientifically, cloud and fog are the same,” stated Nakaya, “but conceptually, there is a big difference.” She describes fog as “an interactive media” which “conjures dialogue with nature” and “reveals the innate” whereas clouds have “never left the realm of romanticism.”) Located in Linz, Australia, on the rooftops of buildings, were these artificially created clouds that enveloped its visitors completely.
The artist used a special fog system that included high pressure pumps and specifically designed fog nozzles. Several outside factors, like wind conditions, temperature and relative humidity in the environment, determined how intense or thick the fog would be at any given time.
As one visitor, Dominque Moulon, stated about her first-hand experience, “What a pleasure it is to disappear here, to reappear there, and to play with this artificial nature. What an intense pleasure it is becoming hypersensitive to every little sound as soon as we find ourselves temporarily in a fog. And one's head becomes lighter by the body's disappearance while the hands ceaselessly reach out to scrutinize the invisible and the unknown.”
The artist is back with a new installation for the recently reopened Exploratorium in San Francisco. In her first Bay Area project, 1,000 high pressure nozzles transform the bridge between Piers 15 and 17 into a beautiful blanket of fog. A must-see, for sure, especially at night.
Photos via [The Fog System]
