Valeur limite, 2019/Bergen Kunsthall, Norway
Steel, acrylic plate, Arduino, Co2 sensor, vibrating motors, Pc monitor, high fired porcelain sheets
100x150x100cm
© Jane Sverdrupsen
The project Valeur limite is primarily related to the Lascaux cave, famous for its Palaeolithic cave paintings. The Lascaux cave became a popular tourist site after World War II but had to be sealed off to the public in 1963 because the breath and sweat of visitors created carbon dioxide and humidity which caused, among other things, the growth of algae damaging the paintings.This phenomenon is strongly connected to my work and ecology as study of the interaction between living organisms, here humans, and their physical environment shows the transformation due to time and human presence. I have started to wonder about the state of the sedimentary layers of earth and organic and non-organic structures. Valeur limite is a module which consists of a metal structure - rectangular parallelepiped form holding an acrylic plate. This assemblage hosts an electronic device - Arduinocomposed of a circuit with a Co2 sensor controlling a vibrating motor. On top of this acrylic plate there is a stack of 2 millimetres thick paper clay porcelain sheets, creating layers. The electronic device records the Co2 value in the gallery which will trigger the motor. That means that the more person there is in the gallery- assuming there are all breathing- the more the motor will make the upper plate vibrate, deteriorating slowly the paper clay ceramic sheet. This work is embodying an emergency, the layers are crumbling down and slowly falling into dust because of one’s breath. It records the traces we produce and translate it in an agressive vibration and a ambiant noise. In the context of an increasingly technomorphic landscape there are more and more human exclusion zones, these installations aim to connect human bodies with technological momentum through energy transmissions.
