fabian oefner: fire sculptures with exploding alcohol

fabian oefner: fire sculptures with exploding alcohol

all images © fabian oefner

like the cortex of a human brain, or the mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb, these intricate structures by swiss artist fabian oefner are made entirely out of flames stopped in time. his newest series of photographs, entitled ‘aurora’, are created by using a closed container filled with evaporated alcohol. when spread evenly inside vessel, gases are added into the mix, causing the substances to ignite. as the flames travel through the large vessel, they explode and form into perplexing fire sculptures in under a split-second.

 the images are a result of setting a few drops of evaporated alcohol on fire in a closed container

 the small cells captured in the image are alcohol molecules being burnt up

 according the oefner, the patterns are determined by the ratio of alcohol to oxygen

 the images are captured in under a split second

 ‘aurora’ looks like the cortex of a human brain, or the mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb