Join us at Printed Matter for the launch of Heliogram, a limited edition flexi publication that combines field recordings by Robin Watkins with a suite of prints by Nina Canell. In their own ways, they consider the ecological effects of static electricity by tapping into a field of intermingling energy signatures.

For Heliogram, Robin Watkins used a handheld receiver to modulate energy into a hearable range, capturing a range of hum harmonics in real time. Locating low-frequency audio signals from midge-wings within the magnetosphere, it is a direct channeling of atmospheric electricity, pressed on a transparent flexi sheet. The recording is accompanied by 12 risograph-printed images from the series Polyethylene Feels by Nina Canell. Caused by the branching of microcharges, copper particles follow the indeterminate behavior of ions, exposing sudden intricate arrangements on plastic polyethylene sheets. Buildup and traces left behind by fingers, hair, mechanical production processes, and folding are some of the electrostatic presences that register in the prints.

For the launch event at Printed Matter Chelsea, an informal listening environment will be set up by the artists.

Robin Watkins frequently collaborates with Nina Canell. The transfer and distribution of energy has been an integral preoccupation of their work since the beginning, often working with situations that are highly sensitive to spatio-temporal variables. Grounded as much in the chance encounter as in close study, their sculptural process foregrounds material agency. Their work has been shown in solo museum exhibitions in Mexico, Switzerland, Belgium, South Korea, Ireland, Austria, the US, Sweden, France, Germany, and England. They have taken part in the Venice, Cuenca, Sydney, Manifesta, Lyon, and Liverpool biennials, as well as group exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Witte de With, Rotterdam; the ICA, London; Secession, Vienna; The Renaissance Society, Chicago; and Guggenheim, Bilbao, among other places.

Run/Off is a New York-based interdisciplinary project by artist Nickolas Mohanna. Founded in 2014, the imprint seeks to promote publishing as an artistic practice; producing small editions in the form of artists’ books, sound recordings or experimental fiction. Each edition is designed and created in close collaboration with each respective artist.