Breathing Hemispheres (skies 66.1100° N, 18.5300° W + 32.0569° S, 115.7439° E)

BACKGROUND Aristotle made connections between the body and the atmosphere, comparing our breathing in and breathing out to atmospheric exhalations. Lesley Duxbury and Paul Uhlmann have long been fascinated by the sky and its phenomena. In this first collaborative project they expanded their concerns to include the air we breathe. According to David Suzuki, "Air is a physical substance; it embraces us so intimately that we cannot say where we leave off and air begins". 2 remote locations, Fremantle and N Iceland, provided opportunities for pure contemplation of the sky and relationship to life through breathing and absorption of the atmosphere. Friedrich's painting 'Two men gazing at the moon' depicting two men as Rückenfiguren was the catalyst for this project. CONTRIBUTION In October 2015 Lesley Duxbury, artist in residence in remote N Iceland, documented the sky at key periods of the day and night corresponding with the same times Paul Uhlmann documented the sky from his home base in remote Fremantle. 2 slim shelves (horizons/latitudes) each 360 cm long installed on the West (representing WA) and North (representing N Iceland) walls met in the corner. 31 photographs of the sky rested on each shelf corresponding to the number of days in October representing the temporal and mutable atmospheres in each location. A 'Rückenfigur' portrait of each artist contemplating at the sky in their respective remote locations situated the two geographical positions of the project on opposite sides of the earth. SIGNIFICANCE This exhibition was peer reviewed and selected for exhibition by the Artistic Directors of Blindside, a gallery that presents a diverse program of experimental creative practice and deeply engaged in contemporary art practices in Melbourne and beyond actively engaging and challenging a diverse audience. The collaboration created new ways of working for Duxbury and Uhlmann.