| Project Title | The Entropic Human |
| Venue | Galleri NORD, Tromsø, Norway |
| Date | October – November 2023 |
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BJØRG-ELISE TUPPEN – THE ENTROPIC HUMAN
EPHEMERAL ART PLACED ON MOUNTAINTOPS – FILM ABOUT EPHEMERAL ART – EXHIBITION AT GALLERI NORD (OCT 28th – NOV5th)
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Entropy is the relentless process in which everything in our universe continuously move from a state of higher order to a state of lower order. Like a sand castle on the beach slowly returning to sand again. This is the process that makes us age, mountains crumble and stars die. In fact, everything in our universe is subject to it. Entropy and time is inherently entangled. The relentless ticking of seconds give rice to disorder, continuously pulling us forward, and in the process, generating the narrative of our reality.
In this project I address entropy and time. How we, in all aspects of our lives and bodies are intertwined, and subject to it. And how be, because of this, live, die and experience time as moving forward of it. The laws of our reality and the sub atomic realm represent a sublime that lingers outside of our comprehension. Still, it is fundamental to our existence. We are a conscious part of nature. This project consists of ephemeral art and a video where I briefly introduce the concept of entropy and how it relates to this project. Further, a series of sculptures, paintings and an installation, which were displayed at an exhibition at Galleri NORD in Tromsø, Norway.
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ARTIST STATEMENT
Bjørg-Elise Tuppen is a visual artist based in Arctic Northern Norway. Her art is inspired and informed by physics, especially quantum mechanics. This forms the foundation from which she explores how humans are integrated with the elusive nature of our reality.
In her sculptural work she fuses the human form with natural materials such as wood, shell fragments, moss and minerals in order to connote this connection. She also explores entropy through site-specific temporary sculptures by making faces from natural materials found at the site. Then returning them to their original state by dissolving them back into the sea. Tuppen’s art can be described as versatile and philosophical with focus on the human being. Her dark, textured paintings often result in expressions that connote light beyond the visible spectrum, and with this connecting us to the elusive reality that we cannot see but are a result of. In her abstract work she explores aspects of quantum mechanics.
Bjørg-Elise unites theory and facts with the human emotion and tie them together as us; a part of the universe made conscious.
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THE FILM
In this film I briefly introduce the concept of entropy and time and talk about how it relates to my art, especially the ephemeral sculptures I create from natural materials and place back out in nature.
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THE EPHEMERAL ART
In this part of the project I create ephemeral sculptures from natural materials and place them back in nature to dissolve back to its original form. This involves dissolving sculptures in the sea, as well as carrying them up to mountain peaks and placing them on cairns. Here the natural clay will slowly dissolve, leaving only the rock behind. It is an offering to this collective reality, which dictate and govern our lives on all levels. It is also an offering to everyone that has gone before us. Those who’s echos linger in the landscape and who has again become part of the very fabric if. Like we all eventually will.
Images from offerings on two different mountaintops. The ephemeral sculptures is placed on cairns, where they will dissolve. Only the stone will be left behind.
My hope is that viewing the sculptures in this settings adds a deeper sense of how humans are, despite the difference in scale, intricately connected to nature and the cosmos. And that as we wander the temporal landscape, will find ourselves not just witnessing but actively participating in the unfolding narrative of existence and strive to live in symbioses with nature. In this profound interconnection with the nature of reality, time becomes the canvas, entropy the brushstroke, and humanity the storyteller. It is a luxury, but it is also a responsibility.
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THE EXHIBITION
Galleri NORD, Tromsø Arctic Northern Norway, October 28th – November 5th
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THE PAINTINGS
Oil on corroded steel 50x100cm
These steel plates have been corroded using sodium hydroxide, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide before sealed with several layers of clear coat. Corrosion is a direct result of the process of Entropy. I wanted to entangle the human form within the pattern created by corrosion to express that we too undergo this process. Further I decided to create ambiguous renderings of the human forms to express the notion that this is an inherent quality of nature that well share – across all races, genders and ages.
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THE INSTALLATION
40x25x25cm
The exhibition also included an installation designed to dissolve as time progressed. My aim here was to not only illustrate entropy, but to also include a piece that underwent entropy. The water acted as a force of nature, applying entropy to the clay. As time went by cracks appeared, mirroring how entropy continuously affects us by again, inevitable returning us to our building blocks, represented by the rock it rested upon.
In contrast to the harsh reality embedded in our existence, the calm expression of the face suggested that there is beauty and peace in these symbioses. Making death a part of the cycle of life, returning us to the disorder from which life arose.
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THE SCULPTURES
The sculptures are made by fusing clay and stone seeking to explore how we are beautifully woven into the fabric of reality. Like conscious, ephemeral threads in the cosmic tapestry. In the history of time we navigate seconds, minutes, years and lifetimes. In these sculptures the rocks represent time in a long perspective – something primordial. And the human form represent life and something existing only briefly. Together they tell a story of inherent shared aspects – the laws of nature – time and entropy – which both are subject to. One senses humanity within the rhythm of nature. Living, dying, returning to earth – a permanent part of everything.
A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Albert Einstein
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LINKS: WEBSITE – IG (FINE ART) – IG (ART PHOTOGRAPHY) – BEHANCE
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