And Beneath It All Flows Liquid Fire

And Beneath It All Flows Liquid Fire, Video Still, 2019

Suggesting multiple ways in which And Beneath It All Flows Liquid Fire can be interpreted, Charrière notes that beneath the political debates, philosophical reflections and symbolic meanings associated with various phenomena of the environmental system, there lies the original and autonomous state of the planet, free from all human interpretation. Deep beneath the Earth's surface, between its outer-most crust and inner core, magma—the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed—constantly churns. Even in the most frozen regions of the earth, this "liquid fire" constantly flows.

In this film, Charrière’s fountain depicts an absurd state that implies the coexistence of opposite elements, water and fire. The artist turns the traditional iconography of the fountain on its head in symbolic terms too: the connection with water and the concept of a spring of life now dominated by flames. Fire has an ambiguous meaning, for it is not just an element of destruction but is also considered humankind’s oldest conquest, corresponding to the beginning of civilization. It is no coincidence that Charrière juxtaposes the remote locations of the glacial landscape not only with the element of fire, but also with the ancient symbol of its earliest settlements: the fountain.