Liquid Solid

Liquid Solid is a collaborative artwork between Nicky Assmann and Joris Strijbos in which they explore the cinematic qualities of a freezing soap film in the sub-Arctic, resulting in a mesmerizing & colourful video installation.

Liquid Solid came forth after attending a residency at the Biological Research Center in the sub-Arctic. The residency has an emphasis on the Arctic environment and deals with the melting ice and changing surroundings. During this residency they shot footage of the freezing process of soap films and made recordings with self build VLF antennas to pick up the electromagnetic signals from the Aurora Borealis.

Liquid Solid is an 18-minute-long film about the freezing process of soap liquid. Within a number of minutes, the colourful soap slowly sinks down in the film of soap, until a vacuum of a very thin layer of water remains, in which frozen crystals whirl round. The constantly shifting iridescent quality of the liquid soap membrane disappears as it freezes, leaving a solid, crystallized colourless surface. Only at a very low temperature at minus 25°C, an accelerated freezing process occurs, during which ice crystals transform into fractal-like patterns.