Nature is an event that never stops, 2023
PSM, Berlin
Nature is an event that never stops (2023) excerpt
Nature is an event that never stops, 2023
solo exhibition
PSM, Berlin
Photos: Marjorie Brunet-Plaza
14.01.-25.02.2023
On the occasion of her sixth solo exhibition with PSM, Sophie Erlund presents a body of work that examines the human condition in the digital age. Under the title Nature is an event that never stops, the exhibition introduces new sculptural works as well as a virtual reality (VR) film, marking a point of departure for the artist at which she expands her practice to include interactive digital design as a medium.
In her artist practice, Erlund has long explored a variety of themes and questions about the more-than-human, particularly our ongoing entanglement with artificial intelligence and its impact on our psychology. The exhibition title Nature is an event that never stops is drawn from a passage in Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life, in which the author reflects on the complex and interconnected system of fungi, suggesting a more comprehensive view of the natural world. This serves as a starting point going into the exhibition, which begins with a sculptural installation and is followed by an interactive VR film that can be experienced with head-mounted VR-display goggles.
The title piece of the exhibition, the VR film Nature is an event that never stops (2023), consists of six scenes that showcase different perspectives on the natural world, such as that of a microorganism or the largest ecosystem. Users are guided through the individual scenes by a narrator, who encourages them to engage with the work through their own navigational choices. The film thereby rejects the idea that nature is a collection of separated and isolated parts and highlights the consequences of the human-centric perspective instead. Developed in close dialogue with cognitive scientist Cordula Vesper, who is an associate professor of cognitive science and cognitive semiotics at Aarhus University, the film also caters to an experiment that investigates aspects of human decision making, cultural knowledge and color perception through interactive color matching scenarios.
The film was developed in collaboration with the Experimenting, Experiencing, Reflecting project (EER), which was founded in 2018 by artist Olafur Eliasson and anthropologist and cognitive scientist Prof. Andreas Roepstorff of Aarhus University, Denmark. EER is funded by the Carlsberg Foundation. EER is founded upon experimentation. The experiments examine perception, notions of togetherness, decision making, and the transmission of knowledge.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an EER lab in the gallery’s loggia to further engage visitors in the dialogical space between art and science. Throughout the course of the exhibition, the lab will host a series of workshops, interventions and panel discussions with artists and scientists from EER.
The EER lab
The Experimenting, Experiencing, Reflecting (EER) project is a collaboration between science and art, led by artist Olafur Eliasson and scientist Andreas Roepstorff from Aarhus University, Denmark. It was founded in 2018 and has been funded by the Carlsberg Foundation since 2019. The EER is an initiative founded upon experimentation on topics such as perception, decision making, action, notions of togetherness, collaboration, and the transmission of knowledge. These scientific experiments are incorporated into and inform art projects and installations in museums and other public institutions.
PUBLIC PROGRAM
A public program will accompany the exhibition. The program features interventions, workshops, presentations and a panel talk, with Sophie Erlund and collaborating artists and scientists from the Experimenting, Experiencing, Reflecting (EER) project. The events are free of charge and open to the public, but due to limited seating and capacity, attendance will be limited to 40 guests per event. The events will take place in the EER lab and in the exhibition spaces. (see program below)
Micro-phenomenological intervention of Nature is an event that never stops
Led by Kat Heimann
Tuesday to Thursday, January 25 - 26 12 - 6 pm
Micro-phenomenology is an interview and analysis method for investigating subjective experience. As a research tool, it provides detailed descriptions of brief moments of any type of subjective experience and offers techniques for systematically comparing them. In this intervention into Nature is an event that never stops visitors will be asked to visit the show, including viewing the film in virtual reality, followed by a private interview with Kat Heimann, using the micro-phenomenology method, to explore what experience was had by the visitor while in the exhibition. If you would like to participate in the intervention and have an MP interview with Kat Heimann, please RSVP to office@psm-gallery.com for a time slot.
Workshop Playing with the Sun
Led by Amos Blanton
Friday, January 27
12 - 2:30 pm – Invited school class
3 - 6 pm – Open to visitors
How do ideas move through a group of people exploring an open-ended activity, and how do they inspire new ideas in the process? Playing with the Sun invites learners to follow their curiosity and build something powered by solar, wind, or their own muscles. In the process they develop their understanding of how sustainable energy works and their ability to be creative with it.
The workshop will happen twice in the same day, first for an invited school class from the Kant International School, Berlin and from 3 - 6 pm it is open to visitors of the exhibition.
Presentations & Panel Talk on Saturday, January 28 at 12 - 7 pm
1 - 2 pm – Katrin Heimann: Presentation on Micro-Phenomenology
A presentation of the method and of the findings from the three-day intervention in Nature is an event that never stops.
– BREAK –
3 - 6 pm – Karsten Olsen: Presentation of the Drawing Transmission Project
The Drawing Transmission project is exploring how the mind can create emergent structure using human transmission and latent cognitive biases to observe the evolution of increasingly symbolic and meaningful perceptions. Olsen will present the experimental method and the background research from a cognitive science perspective.
– BREAK –
5 - 7 pm – Panel talk about experimentation and participatory aspects of art making. Experience in the age of digital and virtual experience.
Speakers will include:
Prof. Andreas Roepstorff (anthropologist and cognitive scientist)
Sophie Erlund (artist)
Helene Nymann (artist)
Pireeni Sundaralingam (neuroscientist, artist and brain activist)