Exploding Art

The news this week included the following headline: Rotting Fish Art Explodes, causes Fire in London Gallery "The installation — a piece called "Majestic Splendor" by Lee Bul — was part of an exhibition of the Korean artist's work, scheduled to open at the Hayward Gallery on May 30. Then, hours before the show's first preview, the gassy art blew up, causing a fire that damaged part of the gallery, artnet News reported. Even though the exhibit was not yet open to the public, gallery officials had already decided to remove "Majestic Splendor" from the show for safety reasons. They had learned earlier that a chemical added to the fishes' bags to dampen their smell could become flammable after combining with gases released by the decomposing flesh, and art handlers were taking down the art as a precaution when it suddenly combusted and sparked a fire, a gallery spokesperson told frieze magazine. This experience had occurred at MOMA in 1997 with the same installation.  Dozens of small, transparent bags were fixed to a wall; each contained a rotting fish decorated with stitched-on sequins and beads, representing Bul's scathing commentary on the fleeting nature of beauty for highly ornamented women.  At that installation, the special refrigeration failed, and the smell was so bad that it caused the display to be removed... Then subsequent showings included an odour-reducing chemical. When combined with combustible material, the chemical is known to trigger violent explosions." All of this comes from the Livescience story HERE.  This is a site that covers science news so the rotting fish story appears under strange news of the week. Another story was about the eruption of Hawaii's Mount Kilauea causing the largest freshwater lake to evaporate because so much boiling lava poured into it.   Garden tour season has begun, and we're looking at this perfect garden in St. Catharines on Henry Street in 2017.