COLIN COURTNEY

Collaborating with the Climate

Author Renata Critton-Papp
Artist Colin Courtney
Artwork Proposal for Precipitation, 2021–ongoing

Colin Courtney’s Proposal for Precipitation is a gentle collaboration with the climate, materially recorded from several locations in Montreal. The slender tower of roofing and plumbing copper takes up temporary space, capturing the unpredictable yet constant cycles of mist, rain, hail, sleet, snow, and fog. The funnel of the structure acts as a receptacle for these conditions, collecting and digesting the water droplets and producing subtle reflections of the urban environment. Thin pieces of found cotton fabric are placed beneath the copper structure to process the chemical reactions occurring between their materiality. The rings of pigment which result from these reactions present a strong connection between the visual imprints and their sources, like the clouds that have released the precipitation reflected in the mineral, layered fractals which appear on the fabric.¹ As condensation moves slowly through the structure, the acidity within the precipitation corrodes the copper metal and filters down through the cotton swatches, leaving traces of pale bluish-green and soft teal. Courtney’s intention is not to answer any questions or to search for scientific outcomes of the impacts of humanity on weather cycles. Instead, they want to leave the interpretation up to the viewer. This allows the audience a space to broaden their perspective and their appreciation for how we interact with cycles of water.

In approaching the subject of climate in their work, Courtney describes their intentional refusal to intervene with natural weather cycles. Rather, they seek to gently inquire and question, prioritizing a receptive and collaborative spirit between themselves and the atmosphere. In Proposal for Precipitation, they engage with an active curiosity, focused on materiality and an undetermined conjecture. Courtney positions their work within a liminal temporality, embracing its brief stays in many areas and its ability to be disassembled and reassembled anywhere. The malleability of the project allows for Courtney to engage with unpredictability and chance, inspired specifically by alchemy. Their artistic practice lends itself to values that are shared in alchemical laboratories of centuries past, particularly the focus on the life of materials and the cryptic recording of their transformational states. Additionally, alchemy holds a strong connection to Courtney’s accidentally created pigments; these unforeseeable results emerge from an inherent “playful experimentation.”² This deliberate playfulness highlights how Courtney looks to interact with and consider natural forces, engaging the audience in a tangible yet fluid interpretation of weather and matter.