From the early panoramas of the 18th century to the virtual spaces of today’s computers, development of spatial representation has always intrigued Bigert & Bergström. The idea of turning spaces inside out evolved from their earlier works of elaborate room installations, like the “Climate Chambers”. But, instead of wrapping the sculpture around the viewer, the spherical photograph places the audience outside a spherical reflection of a room. The artists have developed a technique in which they combine old globe-making methods with new ways of recording space, using panorama stitching and 3D-visualization.

By connecting these images, a molecular structure occurs that enable the artists to document a site or situation in physical form. The joined “Inverted Space Molecules” often serve as a metaphor for the different structures that formulate the thematic aim of the project. In the piece “Weather Station”, the spheres form a molecular tree depicting the relation between the climate and a weather station. On top is the sky, the climate, which provides the underlying spheres, the rooms of the weather station, with the data that constitute climate and weather research. And further down are the more trivial spaces of the station, such as canteens or rest rooms. The tree structure thereby depicts the inherent complexity of the climate where the petty every day talk about the weather meets the extremes of the weather and climate change.

Exploring the expression of spatial representation “Inverted Space Molecules” thus links the spaces where nature and man converge, with the molecular structures of nature itself. Through their conjoined structure they create a multilayered view of spaces that reflect our position, sandwiched between nature and technology.