Exploding into life

The dying signal of a seismometer being engulfed by molten lava has been transformed into artwork as part of a pioneering new exhibition showcasing the awesome power of volcanoes.

The instrument’s final moments measuring the eruption near Grindavík in Iceland on January 14, 2024 have been audified for the immersive Magma Rising display at Downing College’s Heong Gallery, which takes visitors on a journey through the centre of an eruption.

Iceland is one of the most volcanically active regions on Earth. Since 2021, there have been 10 eruptions on Iceland's Reykjanes Peninsula, which have garnered worldwide attention and captured the imagination of the public.

Now – inspired by the research in Iceland of Cambridge University volcanologists and seismologists – the new exhibition showcases a unique combination of science and visual arts, that includes works by Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk, filmmaker Werner Herzog, and BAFTA-award-winning Xbox Game Studio Ninja Theory. 

Magma Rising, guest curated by artist Dr Sara Rawlinson, is the first of the Gallery’s new 'Visual Enquiries' exhibitions, which presents academic research from within the Cambridge community and beyond.

Dr Rawlinson – who was a seismologist in her previous career – said volcanic eruptions are among the most spectacular manifestations of our dynamic planet. “For me, they are the ultimate ‘untouchable’ – you really can’t get too close, but if you see one you never forget it. Volcanoes can be so explosive that they can change the face of world climate for a year or more. They are the most awe-inspiring phenomenon, and that’s what the exhibition conveys. It’s bridging the art-science divide and enveloping the visitor in this experience that becomes more and more magnified the further to the centre you get.”

A wide selection of artwork – including films and video games, sculptures, microscope imagery, shoe design, illustrations, printmaking, paintings, photography, and a large-scale wall mural – is interwoven with scientific data and samples, heritage objects, and historic documents. In total, the show comprises work by 20 artists, complemented by 36 artefacts drawn from three museums.

Sound artist and composer David Stalling’s audification of Cambridge seismologist Professor Nick Rawlinson’s melting seismometer will accompany people through the exhibition ‘volcano’ – part of a concert of sounds made entirely from seismic data, which also includes the North Atlantic seafloor excited by currents, the calls of whales, and the hum of ships.

The equipment was swallowed beneath 20 metres of lava – with a temperature of around 1200 °C – while Prof Rawlinson, a Downing Fellow, was conducting  fieldwork on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

He said: “The Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs through the Peninsula, pulling it apart and opening up fissures which lava fountains up through in an effusive eruption. But we don’t know exactly when and where it will take place, and unfortunately one opened up not far from the instrument. We didn’t have time to save it, but we could hear the real-time signal which was really interesting – this background seismicity that dies off just before the eruption and then this huge surge as the lava comes to the surface. It gets bigger and bigger and then just cuts off. The composition is hard to put into words – it’s very unique.”

Cambridge volcanologist Prof Clive Oppenheimer’s collaboration with filmmaker Werner Herzog on the 2016 Netflix documentary Into the Inferno also features in the exhibition, along with props from the film. And award-winning video game studio Ninja Theory’s work recreating the stunning Icelandic lava flows in Senua's Saga: Hellblade II will be exhibited alongside Björk’s Sorrowful Soil music video, filmed close to the recently erupted Fagradalsfjall volcano .

Dr Rachel Coombes, Cambridge University art historian and Keeper of the Gallery at Downing College, said: “Magma Rising  is the first exhibition in our new ‘Visual Enquiries’ strand, which pairs the visual arts with academic research being undertaken within the Cambridge community. We’re taking academic stimuli that are often kept in the classroom and bringing them to the broader public, through impactful artwork. For this exhibition, there are a lot of artists who are really interested in these amazing natural phenomena and Sara has been working carefully on how this stuff can come together in our space. We’re confident the exhibition will create a lot of excitement.”

Magma Rising: A Journey to the Centre of Icelandic Volcanoes runs 26 February to 22 April at The Heong Gallery, Downing College. Opening times are 12pm to 5pm Wednesdays to Sundays, and admission is free.

The exhibition will be accompanied by an ambitious set of outreach events (nearly every weekend), many of which coincide with British Science Week (8-17 March), the Cambridge Festival (20 March - 6 April), and Earth Day (22 April). Planned events include film showings, a panel discussion about filming active lava, a drawing session with volcanic ash, musical performances, lava flow modelling, a seismometer demonstration and more.

For more information visit: magmarising.org

Words: Stephen Bevan
Published: 26th February, 2025

The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.