About Cloud Chamber for the Trees and Sky
A low round structure covered with turf sits in the North Carolina Museum of Art’s park looking somewhere between a stone hut and a piece of landscape. Close the door behind you, wait for your eyes to adjust, and the room becomes a camera.
British artist Chris Drury created Cloud Chamber for the Trees and Sky in 2003. A small opening in the roof allows light from outside to enter the darkened interior. The chamber functions as a camera obscura, projecting an inverted image of the sky, trees, and moving world onto the interior surface.
Nothing electronic is required. Leaves drift upside down. Clouds cross the floor and wall. People passing outside may appear as moving projections without realizing they have become part of the artwork. The image changes continuously with weather, light, season, and whatever happens to pass near the opening.
The structure stands in the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park and can be explored as part of a visit to the outdoor art collection. The projected image works best when the interior is dark and visitors give their eyes time to adapt.