Björn Dahlem

Cosmos literally means the order of nature and has become our modern expression for the world as one entity, similar to ‘Universe’. I find it only natural to be interested in the world as a whole, not only at terrestrial scale. Also, in fact, my father is a physicist and worked at DLR, the German National Center for Aerospace. But I did never pass any science degree myself, I am just interested in science.

In my work I use a lot of found objects that I buy at thrift stores, supermarkets, one dollar shops or hardware stores. I like the connection between everyday life and sublime ideas of the universe. The sublime only makes sense when measured by its opposite, the banal. Especially pickles and glacier cherries are a great link between mystic alchemy and allday experience.

Surrealism was closely related to psychoanalysis, especially the interpretations of dreams by Freud and Lacan. Surely all this and also the playful, anarchistic approach of Dadaism has influenced my work. Most influential to me was maybe the work of Joseph Beuys, whom I adored very much as a teenager. But also Italian Arte Povera artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, the american artists Paul Thek, Mike Kelley and Jason Rhoades, they have all made a strong impact on me.

My artworks are not about explaining something. It would be boring to use art just to illustrate something. I am using scientific images, models and ideas as motifs for my works. People are invited to look at the background of my work, but not necessarily. They can also just look at the pieces and enjoy.

The separation is the consequence of systematical scientific order. From its beginning in the ancient world, science had a lot of philosophical, spiritual, magical and artistic components. Now they have widely got lost and with them the idea of a close relationship between arts and science. As science and also art have become more and more complex, I do not believe that this separation can be ended so easily.

Werner Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty has proven that scientific knowledge is limited and prone to logical error. This is a huge dilemma for Science, but not for Art. A great artwork deals with all human limitations and logical failures and can turn them into a benefit.

I personally do not believe that art should help to move people into any direction.

Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253), a neighbour galaxy of the Milky Way. It is also home of a supermassive black hole.

I have mainly worked with installations, sculptures and objects. Further I have produced about 20 videos, that have been shown as parts of big installations. All my installations and three-dimensional works derive from drawings, notes and sketches. For me, somehow the sketches are the essential part of my work, because they are the start of everything. But beyond that I am also trying new techniques. At the moment I am trying to develop sculptures including living plants and animals.

Irony means to say the opposite or something radically different from what is actually the case. That is not what I am doing. I prefer humor. And yes, there is a lot of humor in my work. As we look at the Universe, at scientific theories, our own lives, our society, we find that the world is full of contradictions. Art can resolve all these contradictions through humor and poetry. Maybe not forever, but for a moment.

Another big installation currently is shown in Tokyo, at Mori Art Museum, as part of the exhibition The Universe and Art. For March 2017, an exhibition is scheduled at Galeria Heinrich Ehrhardt in Madrid. Further projects will be taking part 2017 in Singapore, Helsinki and others.