Under the weather: Artist captures the elements in immersive installation

The Weather Machine, created in collaboration with composer James Bulley and writer Kamal Kaan, captures the elements and will unleash them in an enclosed space at the stage@leeds.

Built from screens, wooden pallets, grass and some atmospheric lighting, Shearing’s installation will recreate the swirling fog, howling wind and pattering rain that commonly feature in our weather systems.

The installation is a response to our increasing disconnection with the natural world around us, and Shearling hopes The Weather Machine will rekindle visitors’ appreciation of how climate conditions connect us to each other and, ultimately, shape our lives.

‘I think the city environment limits our experience of the horizon and our sense of distance, so gaining perspective on ourselves is really important for placing ourselves in the world,’ says Shearing. ‘In terms of the weather, we rarely take time to dwell on it. We are usually passing through or experiencing it as something to overcome, rather than as a phenomenon to embrace.’

Read our Fauna Fetish design direction to explore how an emerging aesthetic is preoccupied with the natural world as consumers spend more time in the digital sphere.