Event: Atmospheric Forces
A performance along a table at Exeter Custom House, on Thursday 19th June
I once read that people living up mountains age faster than those who’ve chosen a beach-side life. No doubt those of you with a better grasp of physics than me will say, “Well of course, but not so’s you’d notice.” But that it’s a material reality that time passes more slowly in stronger gravitational fields blows my mind. And then I ponder whether that means that actually I am having more fun hiking the Pennines than I am lying by the sea with a book. And on and on down more rabbit holes of thought about how everything is impacted by these forces that repel or attract; how energy in its different forms shapes our experiences, moment by moment; coalescing, retreating, pushing and pulling.
On Thursday 19th, 30 of us brought our molecules into the Long Room at the Custom House to experience Atmospheric Forces – a ‘show and talk’ by artists Sheila Ghelani and Sue Palmer that explores the interconnections between climate and geology, fuel and feelings, the strata and layers of atmospheres. We bustle in and sit beneath an ornate ceiling writhing with master craftsman John Abbott’s intricate plasterwork, tall sash windows looking out on a sun-splashed Quay, and in front of us three tables laid end to end; beneath, an array of household objects including a car registration plate, a kettle, an air pump, a toy horse… At either end, Sheila and Sue – wearing matching boiler suits with embroidered name patches – are a calm and quiet presence. As if waiting for our energy to settle.
We are called to attention by Sheila ringing a small brass bell, its clear, pure sound vibrating through the warm air. What follows is a shared journey through different atmospheric forces, as items are brought from below the table and arranged atop; an archaeological process. Beginnings: a cascade of dust falling from Sheila’s hand, motes caught in shafts of evening sunlight; a cloth lifted, draped and peaking, like a mountain range pushed into being; a drawing of a tree. Fossil fuels and our enduring relationship with the power they bring (‘My car, my car, I’m in love with my car’). A shower of confetti hurled through the air by a small pump, accompanied by Russ Abbott’s ‘Atmosphere (I love a party with a happy atmosphere)’ – no one said forces can’t be playful. A weather balloon inflated, quivering on the table top, like a giant eye. And then a looped projection onto its trembling surface of a family gathering – Sheila as a child with her parents – engaged in an act of ritual and communion; a coming together for a shared purpose, a celebration and an acknowledgment of the power of human connectedness. It’s a moment of such beautiful, quiet focus, that I’m once again aware of time passing more slowly.
After a short break, Atmospheric Force 7 – ‘the company of other people, their words their thoughts’ – brings that awareness to the forefront. At every performance, Sheila and Sue invite a different duo to speak to the show’s themes and movements. In Exeter, we meet Regan Mudhar, a PhD researcher at the University of Exeter studying the ‘stratospheric pathway’ between polar climate change and weather extremes, and Anita Roy, an author and environmentalist involved in the Transition Town movement and a ‘professional cloud-maker’ (using felting techniques to create acoustic absorbers from UK-produced wool). The conversation ebbs and flows, and then Regan – who speaks brilliantly and accessibly about her passion for science, and for ‘weather’ – reminds us that it was our communal effort, combined energies and pressure that resulted in government policy to ban the use of CFCs, thus enabling the ozone layer to repair itself. We’ve done it before; we can do it again. It’s a powerful moment; a timely encapsulation of the evening’s themes.
And what an evening it’s been, thanks to the generous and supportive space that Sheila and Sue create in order to invite us to ponder these forces, to understand their impacts – in constant motion – and to enable us to think deeply about what it means to be a fundamental part of it. In that room we were invited to come together to realise that the greatest force is the one we create together; bringing all of our intelligence, passion, knowledge and humanity to bear on those forces that would seek to pull everything apart. Is there a better feeling than being in the company of others who are vibrating at the same frequency?
This was yet another thought-provoking and considered piece of quality programming by Art Work Exeter, as part of their Cultural Partner residency at the Custom House, where since 2023 they have consistently curated, commissioned and presented some of the most insightful, interesting and surprising work we’ve seen in the city.