Das Irrlicht (Dank) 2022-2024
@ Kunsthal Charlottenborg
Copenhagen, Denmark
Curated by Post Brothers
Das Irrlicht (Dank) is a scenographic installation set in an artificial wetland that employs theatrical effects to mimic the perception of the Ignis fatuus, the natural phenomenon also known as the will-o’-the- wisp. An atmospheric and ghostly light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes, the will-o’-the-wisp has long inspired superstition and folklore around the world, serving as a metaphor for hidden treasure, lost souls, a sinister delusion, or a goal that leads one astray. Modern scientists now agree that the flame-li- ke phosphorescence is caused by gases from decaying plants, which some would assume abolishes the spiritual qualities of the legend. Nymark’s project underlines the phenomenon not only as an expres- sion of how humans understand and translate experiences of their surrounding world and environment but also emphasizes how the spiritual interpretations of the light correlate with its material cause as a transformation of matter and energy.
The installation treats the bog as a stage, employing an amalgam of different elements such as controlled light systems, scent diffusers,
a smoke machine, sound and music, carpet, curtains and artificial plants, to produce an immersive environment for reflection and contemplation on this multifaceted, fecund, and spiritual biotope.
A late-romantic piano sonata overlaid with wetland field recordings adds to the mysterious dream-like quality of this simulated northern wetland. Additionally, displayed on a wall, an inverted photograph depicts a miniature model of Thomas Edison’s 1882 Pearl Street Station, the first commercial central power plant in the United States, which played a key role in the adoption of electric power and is an icon for scientific innovation and mass industrialization. Thus, the artist charts a tension between the development of the modern land- scape and the endurance of spirituality, magic, myth, and folklore at the end of the 19th century, using the wetland as a fecund and biodi- verse resource of energetic infrastructure where the past and present converge.
The project explores how industrialisation and spirituality throug- hout time seem to intertwine and cross paths in unexpected ways, and suggests that uniting these systems of belief can support a more integrated ecological consciousness and perceptual engagement amidst the dire consequences of environmental degradation and climate change. Bringing to light the beneficial and crucial qualities of the wetland, as well as its symbolic and affective properties, the installation offers a poignant reminder of humanity’s symbiotic rela- tionship with the environment and invites us to reconsider the role of myth in our seemingly disenchanted world.
— Matthew Post
Das Irrlicht (Dank) 2022-24
Flame LED light, Arduino, relay, extension cords, polyester carpet, full spectrum light tubes, MDF, mirror PVC vinyl film, artificial paper cat tails and grass, pine beams, Genelec speaker, media player, recording of Edward MacDowell’s 1900 composition Piano Sonata No. 3 in D minor (‘Norse’), Op.57, Kvadrat® linen and viscose curtains, curtain steel wire, smoke machine, smoke liquid, Gamma Wolpa Eurobox, wall mounted blowing fan with attached custom Scent bag.
Variable Dimensions
Pearl Street Station Model. 2024
Photogravure on Fabiano 100 gram cotton paper, laser engraved acrylic, painted passe partout in chrome plated aluminum frame.
32x40 cm
Archive (Hearth) 2024
Cardboard box, neolithic flint tool residue, mirror PVC film, Flame LED light, extension cords, dried twigs and leaves.
Variable dimensions
