Rita Süveges Explores Weather Manipulation History in Hungarian National Gallery Exhibition

Hungarian artist Rita Süveges presented her solo exhibition 'Weather Spectre' at the Hungarian National Gallery in fall 2024. The research-based installation examined historical and contemporary attempts to control weather, comparing pre-scientific rituals with modern technological approaches like geoengineering. Süveges, whose practice investigates ecological impacts of industrial systems, created an immersive environment featuring seven semi-transparent painted panels using textiles, mirrors, and fiberglass netting to evoke weather's ephemeral nature. The project was supported by the TÓTalJOY Prize from Budapest's Central European Research Institute for Art History (KEMKI). In an interview with Maja and Reuben Fowkes, Süveges discussed how both folkloric weather magic and current technoscientific solutions reflect human desires to dominate nature while avoiding systemic changes to address climate crisis causes. She noted similarities between medieval axe-throwing rituals and contemporary geoengineering proposals, suggesting both involve speculative leaps of faith. The artist also explored military involvement in weather science development, citing historical examples from Soviet rainmaking research to Cold War cloud seeding experiments. Süveges expressed skepticism about art's capacity to drive structural change while emphasizing her interdisciplinary approach combining visual practice with research into industrial agriculture, fossil fuel dependencies, and capitalist responses to environmental challenges. The exhibition was documented in a 2024 booklet available online.