Swiss artist Roman Signer is famous for blowing things up. This practice is part of his ongoing research, begun in the 1970s, towards a new concept of sculpture—centred around “the transformation of materials and objects through time” (Hauser & Wirth)—which he documents through photography and film. His so-called actions utilise everyday objects, natural elements like sand, water and fire, and explosive engineering to explore “the relationships between sudden energy releases and calm, between order and chaos, and the existence of form in the apparently formless”. And, as evidenced in this effusive eruption carried out in Sedrun in 2010, the results are particularly pleasing.
