"Cold Sculptures" by Lucie Noel Thune

One of four Norwegians currently in residence at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris, Lucie Noel Thune is working on an installation about the exploitation of the North Pole. Her project, "The Great Explorers", is the third installation in a series entitled "Cold Sculptures". It is scheduled to be shown in 2013.

Lucie Noel Thune, the Artist

After initial art training in Italy, Lucie Noel Thune studied at Virginia Commonwealth University (Virginia, USA) and at the California College of the Arts (San Francisco & Oakland, USA). She has been awarded a number of grants since her artistic debut, and her current residency at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris has been extended so she can complete her project. Her works have also been shown at several exhibitions in the United States and Norway. In France, Lucie Thune has exhibited at the Chateau-Musee Grimaldi (1999) in Cagnes-sur-Mer, and at the Cite Internationale des Arts, during her first stay in 2003.

The "Cold Sculptures" Series

Lucie Thune uses materials such as ice, dry ice and other cooling elements to illustrate the passage of time, turning points and the transient nature of objects. As such, her works are often designed to melt or evaporate, necessarily limiting the duration of her exhibitions.

The first piece of the "Cold Sculptures" series, "The Ice Merchant; Ephemeral Gambler", was predominantly composed of ice and dry ice. The result was a dynamic sculpture that melted and evaporated before the spectators' eyes, in an illustration of the impermanence and fundamental uncertainty with which we all must deal.

With the sculpture entitled "The Medicine Cabinet", which also features extremely cold materials, Thune shifted her focus to an exploration of turning points. This, the second work in the series, consists of a medicine cabinet whose interior is lined with a thin layer of frost. The eye is drawn to the snowflakes' constant movement; the way they flutter and intermingle is particularly significant. The spectators' own presence also plays a key role, as the condensation produced by their breath creates new snowflakes. Over time, the objects inside the cabinet disappear under blankets of frost.

"The Great Explorers" and the White Landscapes of the North Pole

Thune is currently working on a new series of drawings and installations she calls "The Great Explorers". This series focuses on the North Pole and on Norway's historical and political relations with its northern neighbour. Thune seeks to highlight the North Pole's independence and unique role: "No one owns the North Pole, it belongs to all humanity. This unreal place is a hub where the Earth's axis meet its surface." Quoting author Gilles Lapouge, she adds, ''the North Pole is outside of time, in a space where the hour does not chime. Since all meridians and time zones converge at this point, the clocks show every hour at once."

With "The Great Explorers", Lucie Thune is taking her work in a new direction. Though still eager to probe individual perceptions of time passing, she is now turning to those dimensions we have in common. Through a particular focus on turning points in our shared history, Thune explores the insights and mental world kindled by the landscapes of the North Pole.

We look forward to seeing her show in 2013!