Day, night and nature

摘要

Holding one of Ingrid Van Munster's geodes in your hands is a surprising experience; somehow it enables a glimpse into nature. Galaxies, lichens, fruits and riverbeds, they are all here, condensed on the silky surfaces of her pieces. Her geodes remind me of magical creatures found in Hayao Miyazaki's animated films. Furtive shapes you see out of the corner of your eye, before they quickly collapse on themselves and disappear. Far from imitating nature though, Ingrid seems to have created a new form of wildlife. To find out more, I travelled to her home and studio in the Ariege countryside, close to the Pyrenees.