{"id":4725,"date":"2021-10-30T20:38:43","date_gmt":"2021-10-30T19:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mlkold.com\/?p=4725"},"modified":"2023-06-26T17:51:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T16:51:10","slug":"alchemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mlkold.com\/staging\/alchemy\/","title":{"rendered":"Alchemy returns to Lund…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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My art has been inspired by nature from my earliest days as an art student. However, since starting to work in my new studio in 2020, the plants and creatures of the forest and meadows in which it nestles have permeated my creative thoughts to a heightened degree. The result is that new life has entered my art as never before. At first tentatively \u2013 the odd flower here, the cheeky mushroom there \u2013 but then increasingly insistent, persistent and expansive. So now my work is full of life. Some familiar to all and some that is new to this world, having been forged by the union of emotional energy and the beauty of natural forms. Earlier this year, as I was busy preparing a solo exhibition of my new works, it was obvious to me that it should be called V\u00c4XT. (\u201cV\u00e4xt\u201d is Swedish for plant or growth \u2013 in my mind, simply LIFE.)Fast-forward to October 16th, the day the exhibition opened, and this tweet:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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ALKEMI och METALLKONST\u00a0(en svensk version)<\/em><\/strong>. Min konst har alltid inspirerats av naturen. Men n\u00e4r jag b\u00f6rjade arbeta i min nya atelj\u00e9 i Baldringe 2020 klev den omgivande naturen rakt in i mig, och i min konst, p\u00e5 ett helt nytt s\u00e4tt. Det b\u00f6rjade med en f\u00f6rsiktig blomma h\u00e4r, en busig svamp d\u00e4r\u2026 men sedan b\u00f6rjade det spira och v\u00e4xa \u00f6verallt. Och nu \u00e4r min konst full av liv! En del \u00e4r svampar och blommor som vi k\u00e4nner dem, andra \u00e4r helt nya och har uppst\u00e5tt i m\u00f6tet mellan k\u00e4nslor och natur. Tidigare i \u00e5r, medan jag hade fullt upp med att f\u00f6rbereda en stor separatutst\u00e4llning i Lund slog det mig att den inte kunde heta n\u00e5got annat \u00e4n V\u00c4XT.L\u00e5t oss f\u00f6r en stund blicka fram\u00e5t till den 16:e oktober, utst\u00e4llningens vernissagedag, och den h\u00e4r Tweeten:\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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How did Drottning Christina, who has been presumed dead for more than 300 years, come to be so effusive about my V\u00c4XT exhibition? And why the link to alchemy? Back to a late summer, lazy, warm August evening, and discussions with friends about the new and wonderful lifeforms that had sprouted all over my work. The conversation idly turned to what would Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish creator of the binomial classification system of life, have made of my amazing new copper life. Things that look like life that we know but yet are profoundly different. How would he have classified them? Maybe he would have suggested that my \u2018mushroom\u2019 with twinned stalks should have \u2018geminicaulus\u2019 as part of its systematic name? Where would the strange sea-weeds, lichens, barnacles and flowers fit in the traditional subdivisions of the kingdoms of life? We could almost hear Linnaeus slamming down his beer mug and exclaim: \u201cThey have to be in a kingdom of their own. They can only be called V\u00e4xt. Nothing else works!\u201d in sheer frustration.His presence seemed so real, so vital that it made us wonder what other long-gone great minds might have made of this new kingdom of life: V\u00e4xt. How would Charles Darwin have reacted at seeing this beautiful, delicate and iridescent life for the first time? And what about Drottning Christina? She would have been entranced by the way the colours of the new creatures changed with the light and she would have deemed them to be alive. Life breathed into copper. The inanimate made animate. Surely, we could hear her argue, this could only be the result of the work of a great and hitherto unrecognised alchemist. And there were others too. What if, we speculated, we were able to follow their thoughts and discussions about infusing inanimate metal with the lifeforce?And so it was that on September 11th several great minds came back to life. On Twitter. By giving them a new lease of life through this medium, we \u2013 and the rest of the world \u2013 could share their reactions to my art and, through their sometimes ill-tempered interactions with each other, their humanity.The assembled cast included: Carl Linnaeus (\u201cBotanist. Author. Knight of the Order of the Polar Bear. Read my Systema Naturae and become wiser<\/em>\u201c), Christina of Sweden (\u201cSwedish, single and proud. Abdicated monarch. Alchemist and seeker of arcane knowledge. Best idea ever: 15 kg copper lumps as currency. Now back<\/em>\u201d), Ren\u00e9 Descartes (\u201cPhilosopher. Mathematician. Scientist. Lover. I did not say \u201cto be or not to be\u201d. That was someone else<\/em>\u201d), Isaac Newton (\u201cUber nerd from Lincolnshire then Cambridge. My optics still look good after more than 280 years. Gravity baby!\u201d<\/em>), Charles Darwin (\u201cLover of natural history with a soft spot for finches. Explorer of new life and worlds<\/em>\u201d) and Mary Anning (\u201cBroke fossil hunter. Lightning strike survivor. The world has used me ill but is making up for it<\/em>\u201d).Over the subsequent weeks the exchanges between the Twitter group increasingly referred to alchemy \u2013 mainly led by Christina \u2013 and it became clear that there are strong and long-standing associations between alchemy and Lund. This made us wonder what intriguing historical facts and perspectives might emerge if a group of people who are united by their interests in alchemy, the esoteric, and bringing life to inanimate objects, created a website in which they shared their knowledge and thoughts through blog spots. It was thus www.V\u00c4XTalchemy.org came to be, bringing together an obscure collection of nerds, occultists and alchemy enthusiasts. Their posts, as might be expected, range from the deeply esoteric and cryptic to the historically interesting, with everything else in between.In midst of this online activity a freelance journalist comes across the Twitter accounts of the dead who have come to life. It strikes him that \u2018fake accounts of historical people\u2019 would make a good dissertation topic. As a tutor and mentor on the Media and Communication Studies Masters programme at Lund University he suggests this to Casper Ulvesson, a student on the programme. Casper agrees to take it on and starts his first dissertation video by filming next to Linnaeus\u2019s statue in Lund. While doing so he discovers that cradled in the statue\u2019s hand is a stone with the alchemical symbol for copper and the words: #V\u00c4XT alchemy. Casper is aware that this hashtag has been used by some of the Twitter characters he is investigating so his interest is piqued. During his research he comes across an Instagram account that deals with alchemy and that, inexplicably, has uploaded a copy of the video he had just recorded by Linnaeus\u2019s statue. Mystified and a little worried, he suspects that there\u2019s something bigger going on than just fake Twitter accounts. His investigations lead him to the Gr\u00e5br\u00f6dersgatan kvarter, whose links with alchemy are discussed by the V\u00c4XT alchemy blogs. There he comes across J\u00e4ger & Jansson Galleri, where there is a poster for my forthcoming exhibition V\u00c4XT. Casper cannot believe that this is a coincidence and decides to investigate further\u2026Meanwhile, leading up to the opening of the exhibition, the Twitter group has come across pictures of my work \u201cBook of Life\u201d, which teems with mushrooms, that I made earlier this year and started to discuss whether it is metal that had been brought to life. Some speculated that I might in fact be an alchemist\u2026 At the opening of the exhibition I am confronted by Casper, who tries to find out if there is indeed \u2018something bigger going on\u2019. He also asks whether I have any connection with alchemy. It would seem that he found my answers less than convincing. Some of the Twitter group managed to view the exhibition and were very sweet in the way they tweeted about it. But it would seem that the big open book that I hung in the window of the gallery, from whose iridescently patinated copper pages explodes a myriad of vividly coloured mushrooms, being entitled \u201cV\u00c4XT alchemy\u201d has only fuelled further talk of alchemy. As indeed has the talk that I am scheduled to give next week called \u201cArt or alchemy? Or both?\u201d\u2026Life \u2013 in my metals, and outside of them \u2013 goes on, and the plot thickens\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hur kommer det sig att Drottning Kristina, som varit d\u00f6d i mer \u00e4n 300 \u00e5r, kan vara s\u00e5 f\u00f6rtjust i min V\u00c4XT-utst\u00e4llning? Och varf\u00f6r l\u00e4nken till alkemi? MEN L\u00c5T OSS B\u00d6RJA FR\u00c5N B\u00d6RJAN\u2026<\/strong>\u00c5ter till en fin augustikv\u00e4ll d\u00e5 vi satt med goda v\u00e4nner i Baldringe och diskuterade den fantastiska v\u00e4xtligheten som spirade i min konst. Vi undrade vad Carl von Linn\u00e9 skulle ha t\u00e4nkt om min levande koppar. Flora som vi k\u00e4nner igen fr\u00e5n naturen kring oss, men som \u00e4nd\u00e5 \u00e4r helt annorlunda. Hur skulle han ha klassificerat den? Kanske mina kopparsvampar med dubbla f\u00f6tter hade f\u00e5tt \u201cgeminicaulus\u201d som en del av sitt namn, enligt Linn\u00e9s systematik? Var hade det annorlunda sj\u00f6gr\u00e4set, laven, havstulpanerna och blommorna passat in i de traditionella undergrupperna i Linn\u00e9s indelning av v\u00e4xtriket? Vi kunde n\u00e4stan h\u00f6ra Linn\u00e9 sl\u00e5 n\u00e4ven i bordet och frustrerat h\u00e4vda att \u201cDe beh\u00f6ver ett helt eget system! De kan bara kallas ‘V\u00e4xt’. Inget annat funkar!\u201d CARL VON LINN\u00c9 F\u00c5R S\u00c4LLSKAP P\u00c5 TWITTER\u2026<\/strong>Vi k\u00e4nde hans n\u00e4rvaro s\u00e5 p\u00e5tagligt att vi b\u00f6rjade undra hur andra stora t\u00e4nkare hade sett p\u00e5 detta nya v\u00e4xtrike. Hur skulle Charles Darwin ha reagerat n\u00e4r han s\u00e5g detta vackra, \u00f6mt\u00e5liga och skimrande liv f\u00f6r f\u00f6rsta g\u00e5ngen? Och Drottning Kristina? Hon skulle ha fascinerats av hur f\u00e4rgerna p\u00e5 de nya organismerna f\u00f6r\u00e4ndrades av ljus och hon skulle dragit slutsatsen att de lever. Levandegjord koppar. Ett d\u00f6tt material som besj\u00e4lats! Vi k\u00e4nde oss \u00f6vertygade om att vi kunde h\u00f6ra henne insistera p\u00e5 att detta bara kunde vara resultatet av en stor och hittills ok\u00e4nd alkemists arbete. Det fanns andra sp\u00e4nnande historiska personer ocks\u00e5. T\u00e4nk om vi kunde f\u00f6lja deras tankar och diskussioner om att besj\u00e4la livl\u00f6s metall?Och s\u00e5 kom det sig att flera stora t\u00e4nkare \u00e5teruppstod den 11:e september. P\u00e5 Twitter. Genom att ge dem nytt liv i detta medium kunde vi \u2013 och resten av v\u00e4rlden \u2013\u00a0ta del av deras reaktioner p\u00e5 min konst. Och genom deras stundtals l\u00e4ttretade samspel kunde vi ocks\u00e5 f\u00e5 en inblick i deras m\u00e4nsklighet.TWITTERG\u00c4NGET\u2026<\/strong>Skaran bestod av:Carl von Linn\u00e9 (\u201cBotanist. F\u00f6rfattare. Riddare av Nordstj\u00e4rneorden. L\u00e4s min Systema Naturae och bli klokare.<\/em>\u201c)Drottning Kristina (\u201cSvensk, singel och stolt. Abdikerad monark. Alkemist och s\u00f6kare av mystisk kunskap. B\u00e4sta id\u00e9n n\u00e5nsin: 15-kilos kopparklumpar som valuta.<\/em>\u201d)Ren\u00e9 Descartes (\u201cFilosof. Matematiker. Forskare. \u00c4lskare. Jag sa inte \u201cto be or not to be\u201d. Det var n\u00e5n annan.<\/em>\u201d)Isaac Newton (\u201cSupern\u00f6rd fr\u00e5n Lincolnshire, sen Cambridge. Ser fortfarande bra ut efter mer \u00e4n 280 \u00e5r. Gravitation, baby!\u201d<\/em>)Charles Darwin (\u201c\u00c4lskare av naturhistoria med en svaghet f\u00f6r finkar. Uppt\u00e4ckare av nytt liv och nya v\u00e4rldar.\u201d<\/em>)Mary Anning (\u201cFattig fossilj\u00e4gare. Blixtnedslags\u00f6verlevare. V\u00e4rlden har gjort mig illa men kompenserar f\u00f6r det.\u201d)<\/em>I veckorna som f\u00f6ljde kom diskussionerna dem emellan att mer och mer handla om alkemi. Kristina var mest drivande, och det blev tydligt att d\u00e4r \u00e4r starka och kopplingar mellan Lund och alkemi som \u00e5r mycket l\u00e5ngt tillbaka i tiden. Detta fick oss att undra vilka sp\u00e4nnande historiska perspektiv och fakta som kunde t\u00e4nkas dyka upp om en grupp m\u00e4nniskor, som delar ett intresse i alkemi, mystik och att ingjuta liv i d\u00f6da ting, tillsammans skapat en webbplats d\u00e4r de delar med sig av sina tankar och kunskaper genom blogginl\u00e4gg.D\u00e4rmed uppstod\u00a0www.V\u00c4XTalchemy.org<\/a>. Denna udda samling, n\u00f6rdar och alkemientusiaster skrev inl\u00e4gg med bred sp\u00e4nnvidd, fr\u00e5n det kryptiska till det historiskt fascinerande, och mycket annat.MEN VAD H\u00c4NDER UTANF\u00d6R WEBBEN\u2026?<\/strong>Mitt i all denna onlineaktivitet springer en frilansjournalist p\u00e5 de fejkade Twitterkontona. Han konstaterar att \u201chistoriska personers fejkade Twitterkonton\u201d skulle bli ett bra tema f\u00f6r en avhandling. Han \u00e4r handledare f\u00f6r media- och kommunikationsstudenter i Lund och tipsar studenten Casper Ulvesson, som nappar. F\u00f6rsta delen i hans avhandling \u00e4r en kort filmsnutt, inspelad vid Carl von Linn\u00e9-statyn i Lund. Mitt under p\u00e5g\u00e5ende filmning uppt\u00e4cker han att Linn\u00e9 h\u00e5ller en sten i sin hand, med den alkemiska symbolen f\u00f6r koppar samt texten #V\u00c4XT alchemy. Han tycker sig minnas ha sett denna hashtag i n\u00e5gra av de fejkade Twitterfl\u00f6dena och blir nyfiken. Snart hittar han b\u00e5de bloggsidan och \u00e4ven en Instagramsida med namnet \u201cV\u00c4XT alchemy\u201d och tror knappt sina \u00f6gon n\u00e4r han hittar sin f\u00f6rsta videosnutt postad p\u00e5 sidan! Mystifierad och lite orolig misst\u00e4nker han att d\u00e4r \u00e4r n\u00e5got st\u00f6rre p\u00e5 g\u00e5ng \u00e4n bara fejkade Twitterkonton. Han letar vidare och landar p\u00e5 Gr\u00e5br\u00f6dersgatan i Lund, vars kopplingar till alkemi har diskuterats p\u00e5 bloggsidan. P\u00e5 Gr\u00e5br\u00f6dersgatan hittar han J\u00c4GER & JANSSON Galleri, d\u00e4r det finns en affisch f\u00f6r en kommande utst\u00e4llning med namnet \u201cV\u00c4XT\u201d. Casper kan bara inte tro att detta \u00e4r en slump, och best\u00e4mmer sig f\u00f6r att unders\u00f6ka det hela vidare. Vad som \u00e4n kr\u00e4vs\u2026TILLBAKA TILL TWITTERG\u00c4NGET\u2026<\/strong>Utst\u00e4llningens vernissage n\u00e4rmar sig, och Twitterg\u00e4nget har hittat en bild p\u00e5 mitt verk \u201cBook of Life\u201d som jag skapade i v\u00e5ras, en kopparbok som en massa kopparsvampar v\u00e4xer upp ur. Gruppen b\u00f6rjar diskutera om det faktiskt \u00e4r metall som har f\u00e5tt liv. En del av dem undrar till och med om jag rent av \u00e4r alkemist!OCH VAD H\u00c4NDE MED CASPER ULVESSON?<\/strong>Ja, Casper har varit p\u00e5 ett ganska dramatiskt nattligt \u00e4ventyr (se videon\u2026) n\u00e4r han pl\u00f6tsligt dyker upp p\u00e5 vernissagen f\u00f6r att \u00e4ntligen reda ut vad som h\u00e4nder. Han fr\u00e5gar mig om min koppling till alkemi, men \u00f6vertygas inte av svaren.Twitterg\u00e4nget har sett foton fr\u00e5n utst\u00e4llningen och jag uppskattar deras f\u00f6rtjusta reaktioner v\u00e4ldigt mycket! I galleriets stora skyltf\u00f6nster h\u00e4nger en stor, \u00f6ppen kopparbok, ur den v\u00e4xer och spirar en myriad av f\u00e4rggranna kopparsvampar. Boken heter \u201cV\u00c4XT alchemy\u201d och detta eldar p\u00e5 alkemi-diskussionerna.Tisdag den 2:e november kl. 18 h\u00e5ller jag ett f\u00f6redrag p\u00e5 galleriet med titeln \u201cKonst eller alkemi \u2013 eller b\u00e5da delarna\u201d, och fr\u00e5gan \u00e4r om vi kommer n\u00e4rmare sanningen d\u00e5?Livet \u2013 i och utanf\u00f6r mina metaller \u2013 forts\u00e4tter, och mystiken t\u00e4tnar\u2026H\u00e4r under finns de fem korta Casper Ulvesson-klippen, tillsammans en filmsnutt p\u00e5 under fem minuter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Below you will find a collation of the five Casper Ulvesson videos, just under five minutes in total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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