mountaincutters

Through glass, ceramics, textiles, and sculpture, we investigate phenomena that exceed human scales and the slow or sudden transformations that shape environments. Fulgurite, a form of natural glass created when lightning strikes sand, is now at the centre of this research. Sometimes described as “fossilized lightning,” it represents for us the material trace of an energetic event that is almost impossible to grasp. At the meeting point of atmosphere and geological time, it reveals how certain invisible forces become inscribed in matter. 

We see this residency as a period of observation, attentiveness, and movement across the Texan territory. More than a time of production, it will be a phase of immersion and inquiry, guided by the places themselves. Our working method is based on travel, encounters, and direct experience of landscapes. 

During the residency, we hope to gather images, stories, materials, and observations that will form the basis of a future body of sculptures, glass and ceramic works, texts, and installations. More broadly, this research will allow us to deepen our reflection on the relationships between energy, landscape, and material memory. 

The vastness of the landscape, oral histories, traces of resource extraction, the coexistence of scientific, artistic, and vernacular practices, and contemporary environmental concerns together form a context that resonates deeply with our work. 

We are particularly drawn to the territories of West Texas, where distance, extreme climatic conditions, and the experience of landscape are central. These are spaces in which sky and ground form an inseparable whole. 

Places such as Marfa and the Big Bend region interest us for their ability to bring together a strong artistic history with sustained attention to the material and ecological realities of the desert. This residency is also an opportunity to continue a critical reflection on the legacy of Land Art. Where certain practices have relied on monumental gestures and a vertical conception of landscape, we wish to explore a more horizontal approach, grounded in listening, observation, and the circulation of knowledge. 

We would like to meet scientists, artists, park rangers, mineral collectors, as well as Native American people whose everyday practices sustain both close and long-standing relationships with the land. We wish to visit natural parks, mineral collections, laboratories, and independent spaces, while leaving significant room for unexpected encounters that may guide the research.