Raindrop

2013

wood, fibreglass, aluminium honeycomb, steel mesh, fan, water
80cm x 60cm x 200cm (w x d x h)

Raindrop is based on an experiment at the University of Manchester in the early 1970s performed by C. P. R Saunders and B. S. Wong. This installation, developed from Saunders and Wong’s research paper is positioned as a continuation and development from their original work.

The machine was developed over a two year long process of experimentation, from the moment Saunders gave McClymont a copy of the research paper and the artist subsequently visited the laboratory in Manchester. Raindrop is a unique machine, using the same principle as the original experiment. The installation includes a human who must replace the drop as it evaporates, injecting a new drop into the machine with a syringe.

Each drop exists in free-fall for up to an hour, falling and behaving exactly like a real raindrop. The machine blows air upwards and captures the drop in a vertical wind tunnel, standing beside it you are allowed to witness a singular raindrop falling continuously beside you.

"Raindrop comprises a machine built to allow a drop of water to hover in mid air. Viewing this translucent, jewel-like object instils a very bodily sense of unease. Arrested in free-fall, its form mechanically maintained in a seeming repudiation of basic physics, the stationary raindrop throws us off balance, making us feel as though we were plummeting to the ground in its place."
Tom Morton

New Scientist wrote this article about the artwork

Raindrop installation at CAM Raleigh, USA
Raindrop installation at CAM Raleigh, USA
Raindrop, Ars Electronica, There Is No Planet B
Raindrop, installation documentation at Dundee Contemporary Art, Blue Skies Festival
Raindrop documentation
Raindrop installation detail
Raindrop installation detail
Raindrop, installation detail
Raindrop, installation detail
Raindrop installation detail
Raindrop installation detail
water drop within the Raindrop installation
water drop within the Raindrop installation
water drop within the Raindrop installation
water drop within the Raindrop installation
studio documentation