Northern Alchemy
Hilde Dramstad, Emil Gustafsson, Marie Hepsø, Jorge Manilla, Jan Eric Skevik.
Runa Vethal Stølen, Reinhold Ziegler.
Curated by Camilla Luihn and Anna Talbot.
September 6 – October 7, 2018
It is with great pleasure that we present the exhibition Northern Alchemy with Hilde Dramstad, Emil Gustafsson, Marie Hepsø, Jorge Manilla, Jan Eric Wold Skevik, Runa Vethal Stølen and Reinhold Ziegler, curated by Camilla Luihn and Anna Talbot. Seven artists with different backgrounds, ages, experiences and perspectives are united by a common interest and knowledge of materials.
Alchemy was the medieval precursor to modern chemistry, often mixed with magical notions that were to be used to transform metals into gold, as well as to produce elixirs of life that could make one immortal. While alchemy on one level could be simplified to be about turning lead into gold – there was also another form of alchemy; the quest to mentally transform man into an enlightened individual. In the exhibition Northern Alchemy, the alchemical hunt for gold is united with the longing for light during the Dark Ages. The Norwegian winter lays a dark blanket over the land, but in workshops and studios, alchemists work tirelessly with hammers and saws. They solder and weld, enamel and etch. The alchemist embraces both darkness and light, and brings the opposites together in one object. Out of the darkness, objects emerge as the mythical gold in the laboratory. Where ordinary jewelry usually consists of precious metals and precious stones, these artists seek to give us gold in a metaphysical state, to bring spirit to matter.
The exhibition can be seen as a commentary on the Nordic Dark Ages and at the same time refers to historical alchemy, where the quest to transform simple materials into gold functions as a metaphor for value. In a spatial installation, the individual works are integrated into a chemical whole and create a mental laboratory.
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