Evaporation

‘Evaporation’ is an extended research project carried out by Kovats, initiated while she held the James Lovelock Award. ‘Evaporation’ examined James Lovelock’s Gaia theory, focusing on relationships with the world’s seas and oceans, bringing together a body of direct environmental investigation into associated artworks.

‘Evaporation’ was the title of a solo exhibition at the Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester, as part of their Science Festival (22 October 2015 - 15 May 2016), comprising a set of artworks, sculptures and drawings inspired by Gaia theory, including large steel ‘Ocean Bowls’ in the form of the three largest oceans Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. These artefacts were filled with salt water that was allowed to evaporate and rust the steel. Thus, the research became manifested in sculptural forms and drawn outputs that explored processes and methodologies of equivalents, with Kovats developing a language of modelling and visualising hydro earth systems that could be translated into approaches to making in the studio.

This exhibition included public-facing events, discussions and a collaboration with the composer Jonathan Dove. Further work from this research was shown in ‘Bleached’ as part of Hull City of Culture (29 July - 17 September 2016) and ‘Future Knowledge’, Modern Art Oxford (22 September - 28 October 2018), exploring how visual culture can play a role in raising awareness of the effects of climate change.

Kovats continued this research as Visiting Fellow at Exeter University for the launch of the Global Systems Institute, helping bring together a range of departments into an environmental grouping. This important and interdisciplinary research institute places creativity among its many values, and this research of Kovats typifies the outreach to wider audiences. Her creative outputs were widely seen, visited, shared and reviewed including in: The Times (1 January 2016), AnOther (8 December 2015) and Wallpaper (26 October 2015).