Terri Weifenbach: Cloud Physics

A luminous photographic consideration of atmospheric phenomena, visual perception and life on Earth, from the author of Des Oiseaux

In Cloud Physics, American photographer Terri Weifenbach explores the vital interconnection of our planet’s clouds and the intimate forms and textures of its biological life. The backbone of this work is a series of photographs (for which she received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2015) made at an American research facility used for the study and measurement of clouds, their origin, structure, particles and solar relationships. The exotic instruments she portrays are designed to express ephemeral atmospheric phenomena as sets of numeric data, yet Weifenbach's camera (and her way of seeing) renders our organic terrestrial world as an unquantifiable mystery. The vibrant scenes of her wide-ranging images ― tiny variations of light, humidity, fire, lightning; iridescent mists and vapors; glimpses of the animal kingdom and the vegetal world ― are like myths-within-myths unfolding throughout the book, against a backdrop of endless weather events. In an original essay, Luce Lebart examines Weifenbach's work in the historical contexts of visual art and environmental science.

Terri Weifenbach (born 1957) is an American photographer based in Paris. She has taught at the Corcoran College of Art + Design and American University (both in Washington, DC). Her work has been exhibited internationally for over 15 years and is in numerous collections, including the Sir Elton John Photography Collection and the Museum Ludwig in Koln, Germany. She has published more than 10 books, with presses such as Nazraeli and Atelier EXB.