Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle

 

For Manglano-Ovalle “climate” becomes an apt metaphor for our current milieu because of its polysemy; climate can signify both “natural phenomena such as meteorological events, as well as the political climate of geopolitics post 9/11.” Moreover, Manglano-Ovalle’s works are often characterized by their conflation of a seductive aesthetic form and an underlying malignancy. For example, Cloud Prototype no. 1 (2003) is a titanium and alloy sculpture that represents one second within the duration of a thunderstorm created at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois, where the artist collaborated with scientists to retrieve three-dimensional data from an actual thunderstorm.¹ Cloud Protoype no. 1’s polished metallic surface and undulating form attract and engage the viewer on a purely aesthetic level. However, upon further inspection of the title and description of the piece, the viewer is confronted by the realization that this object is the representation of the potentially destructive force of a supercell thunderstorm.