Daniel Stier translates his stark, science-inspired photography into moving image

An interest in experiments is what formed the backbone of Daniel Stier’s previously featured series Ways of Knowing. After publishing the photo series as a book last year, Daniel has continued to draw parallels between science and art with his first venture into filmmaking, Experiment. “The theme of experiment is something I’ve been interested in for a while,” he says. “I’ve been dabbling in video recently and I’m trying to translate my photographic style into moving image.”

Daniel describes himself as a “sucker” for the stark style of evidential photography, and in Experiment he has shot a series of simple experiments – some of which also feature in his book – as if they were still lifes. These include “cloud in a bottle” and Foucault’s pendulum, which mimics the earth’s rotation. “It’s never about the exact science,” he explains. “It’s more about cause and effect. I just use scientific vernacular to highlight the idea of experiment, and that includes an aesthetic or artistic experiments too.”