Haroon Mirza, After Lofoten (Solar Powered LED Circuit Composition 47), 2022

2022

Medium

Polyurethane, pigments on photovoltaic panel, LED matrix, LED tape, microcontroller, meteorite, plastic, aluminum, wire, magnetic wire, copper tape, ferrofluid, and echinopsis pachanoi cristata on linen

Dimensions

177 × 300 cm

Status

In Gallery Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-155962

In his "Solar Powered LED Circuit Compositions" series, Haroon Mirza combines solar panels, electronic circuits with light and pigments to create wall works that preserve the rawness and aesthetics of the materials used while simultaneously developing a painterly presence. At the center of the large-format triptych "After Lofoten (Solar Powered LED Circuit Composition Number 47)" is a metal frame covered with canvas, which Haroon Mirza does not use as a classic pictoral surface, but rather as a mounting surface on which he places various components. These are connected by an electronic circuit with two outer solar panel cells, supplying power to copper wires, LED strips, and an LED matrix illuminating a flickering candle. The intensity of the LEDs varies depending on the incident light, reflecting external influences. The crystalline, broken surfaces of the solar panels create the impression of constellations in the night sky and the applied synthetic resin turns them into painterly surfaces inspired by galactic images. The composition on the canvas is reminiscent of an erupting volcano from which a fine cloud of ferrofluid – a liquid that reacts to magnetic fields – spreads across the picture surface. In it one sees the imprint of a round magnet, the outline of which looks like a distant planet. In relation to this, as in a circulating planetary constellation, there is a San Pedro cactus cast in synthetic resin on one side, from which the hallucinogenic substance mescaline is extracted, and a slice of a meteorite on the other. The meteorite experienced such strong forces upon entering the atmosphere that the iron melted into a glass-like structure, still recognizable today as red sparkling crystals. Mirza's interest lies in the convergence of energy and electricity of heterogeneous elements, creating a closed circuit that can be understood conceptually and metaphorically as an analogy to societal systems.