8/18/2019 Hiroshi Sugimoto Statement

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Hiroshi Sugimoto's Lightning Fields

'For Hiroshi Sugimoto’s project, Lightning Fields, (2009) , he traded optics for electricity. He

used a Van de Graaf Generator to send up to 400,000 volts through film to a metal table. The

resulting fractal branching, subtle feathering, and furry whorls call to mind vascular systems,geologic features, and trees. He also pursued aqueous discharge experiments with electrically

charged film and saltwater baths, creating photographs whose subjects resemble primevall life

forms. “I see the spark of life itself, the lightning that struck the primordial ooze,” Sugimoto

says. Although some of the effects happen by chance, the artist does try to exercise control. “I

have a kitchen’s worth of utensils that produce sparks with different characteristics,” he says.

“But there are many variables — weather, humidity, perhaps even what I had for breakfast —

I’m never sure what influences the results.''