Can one recreate the pale light from the universe’s earliest stars and the scent of the earth’s very first forest? Can one imitate the golden and pale moonlight? This is one of the many questions Scottish Katie Paterson revolves around in her very special art project. Throughout her career, she has been preoccupied with large, cosmic issues and has been fascinated by the ocean of space of time. COSMIC MIXTURE: In the work “Endling” (2021), fossilized remains from cosmic dust and ancient trees are mixed into water colors and painted in a color circle. Photo: EIVIND LAURITZEN / GALLERY F 15 Gallery F 15 in Moss now shows an extensive solo exhibition with this renowned artist: An artist driven by scientific curiosity and a strong, poetic longing for beauty. Here at home, she is best known as the creator of the so-called Future Library – a time capsule in Oslo’s main library with texts that will not be read until a hundred years from now. Artificial moonlight The first thing that meets us in the exhibition is the moonlight room. In a darkened hall, a solitary light bulb lights up. It recreates the peculiar silver-colored moonlight, which is both cold and warm at the same time. ARTIFICIAL MOONSHIN: It is a wonderful experience to be enveloped by the artificial moonlight. Photo: LARS-INGAR BRAGVIN ANDRESEN On the wall hangs a frame with extra light bulbs. Paterson has created enough moonlight for an entire life cycle (66 years). It is a strong experience to sit there in the subdued moonlight. For city dwellers, the pure moonlight is a rare experience due to all the light pollution. The moon is not perfect From the 2nd floor, tones from Paterson’s version of Beethoven’s moonlight sonata can be heard. In 2007, she sent the world-famous piece of music with Morse code round-trip moon. When you listen to the well-known piano sonata, you may at first think it’s just a normal recording of the work, but pretty soon you notice that it is something a little different. It chops quite a bit, and tones occasionally fall away. This is because the moon is not a perfect sphere, but full of craters that cast shadows, and which have created holes and wounds in Beethoven’s composition. The mythical Paterson is far from the first to be inspired by the moon. We have always stared at the sky, it is a kind of basic human gesture. In the Inca culture, for example, celestial bodies were seen as gods. The moon is fascinating both as a scientific reality and as a mythical symbol – a picture of longing and loneliness. Not least, the moon was an important motif in the romance of the 19th century. Caspar David Friedrich and JC Dahl swarmed around the moonlight landscape. Dust from a Pre-Earth Age But it’s not just this enigmatic silver mirror in the sky that Paterson is interested in. We also find asteroids, star dust and fragrances from the dawn of time in the exhibition. In Norway, Scottish Katie Paterson is perhaps best known as the creator of the Future Library. Photo: Lars-Ingar Bragvin Andresen In the work “To Burn, Forest, Fire” (2021), she explores the scent of the earth’s very first and last forest. In collaboration with researchers, she has managed to extract odors from remnants of the extinct cladoxylopsida. The last forest is represented by the scent of the endangered Amazon. The fascinating work “The Moment” (2022) consists of a large hourglass with fossilized remains from a time before the earth was formed. There is dust from exploding stars, remnants of asteroids and meteorite fragments, Martian dust and rocks. The work «First Light» (2022) is also fascinating. It consists of sheer curtains colored pale blue as the universe’s first stars. STAR STRONG: A beautiful work is the pale blue curtains that derive their color from the earth’s very first stars. In front hangs the work «Ara» which is a light loop with small lamps, where each light bulb is equal to the brightness of the stars in the constellation «Ara». Photo: Lars-Ingar Bragvin Andresen A light-hearted paterson constantly collaborates closely with researchers of various kinds. She is concerned that what she presents must be scientifically correct. Through her work, she directs our gaze to the great cosmic questions. We stare up at the sparkling Milky Way and take in the acute vulnerability of nature. EXTIRED FLOWERS: The title work “Evergreen” (2022) is an embroidery that represents all the earth’s extinct flower species. Plants are the basis of much of life on the planet. It is dizzying to absorb all the plants that are no longer found in the flora. Photo: LARS-INGAR BRAGVIN ANDRESEN There is something fateful in this picture she draws up for us, at the same time there is something reassuring in the fact that our own life suddenly appears only as a flash of light in the great darkness. Katie Paterson is a concept artist, and her art project is quite intellectual and theoretical. It is clearly an advantage to read up on what the various works are really about. But I also think she is good at creating visual expressions that carry forward the complex concepts. The exhibition at Gallery F 15 is both interesting and beautiful, and definitely worth a visit. news reviewer Photo: Eivind Lauritzen / Gallery F 15 Title: «Evergreen» Artist: Katie Paterson Place: Gallery F 15, Moss Curator: Maria C. Havstam Date: 28 May to 5 October 2022
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