Artist controls the weather, and the forecast is 32 stunning pictures of man-made indoor clouds

Etai Eshet • Editor

Jan 1, 2025 11:30 AM EST

Imagine walking into a historic, atmospheric space—a chapel, a gallery, or perhaps even a damp, forgotten room—and finding something insanely surreal: a cloud, floating delicately in the air. No storms, no sky, just a single, perfectly formed puff of vapor, casually defying reality. That is the magic created by Dutch artist Berndnaut Smilde.

Smilde is best known for his Nimbus series, where he creates real, fluffy clouds indoors. Yes, you read that right, actual clouds! Using a combination of smoke, moisture, and lighting in carefully controlled spaces, he conjures these temporary sculptures that hover for just a moment before vanishing. It's art that exists in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only a photograph and a sense of wonder.

So, next time you're daydreaming about walking through the clouds, remember: Berndnaut Smilde has already done it and the results are these absolutely mesmerizing pictures you can scroll through instead.

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You know, there was this time, before I was the happy-go-lucky, always cheerful ray of sunshine I am today, I could swear a little gray cloud started following me—like a cartoon, but less cute and more passive-aggressive.
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At first, I thought, “Oh, great, my mood has summoned its own pathetic weather system.”
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It didn’t rain, though—no dramatic downpour or anything, just this annoying, misty drizzle, like the universe itself was sighing at me.
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I tried to get rid of it by cheering up, "fake it till you make it" style, but the cloud wouldn’t have it and just hung there, following me around.
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At some point, we became best buddies me and it, and I named it—Claude, the Cloud, my moody little companion in despair.
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I’m not sure when, but Claude drifted off without saying much of a goodbye. Sometimes I think I can feel him around but when I turn around it’s never there. Honestly, I still kind of miss my emotional support-weather phenomena.
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