on Toshareproject.it - curated by Bruce Sterling
Marjolijn Dijkman
ELECTRIFY EVERYTHING
Friday, 10 September, 5–9pm
/ English version / German version below
NOME is pleased to present Electrify Everything, a solo exhibition of new works by the Dutch artist Marjolijn Dijkman. Dijkman’s multi-disciplinary, research based practice is concerned with the residues of enlightenment ideology, manifestations of collective memory, and the blind spots of representation.
Electrify Everything brings together three inter-related bodies of work that draw upon the artist’s research into the history of electricity and the environmental impact of contemporary energy storage. The immersive film Depth of Discharge translates the seductive, captivating magic of 18th century enlightenment demonstrations into an abstract exploration of the roots of the nine different units used to measure electricity. The works in the sculptural series Cloud to Ground refer to fulgurites, a phenomenon commonly referred to as “fossilized lightning.” Made in collaboration with an electro-technician, Dijkman created artificial fulgurites by discharging electricity into earth collected from mining sites in Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which she then suspended in resin pyramids. A series of photographs entitled Earthing Discharge depicts items associated with technology and energy use, including lithium, coal, circuit boards, and personal devices. Both Earthing Discharge and the film Depth of Discharge are made with a high voltage electro-photography technique in which the artist uses a discharge plate made from a tin-coated sheet, the same material as used in touch screen devices. By making microscopic electric interactions visible, electricity becomes an actor in Dijkman’s recent works, adopting an almost animistic character.
Marjolijn Dijkman (b. 1978, The Netherlands) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Brussels. She is the co-founder of the independent art organization Enough Room for Space (ERfoS). Together with Picha (Lubumbashi, D.R. Congo) ERforS initiated the collective project On-Trade-Off, which reflects on environmental and economic implications of the extraction and processing of Lithium. Dijkman’s works have been featured in numerous international exhibitions, including solo shows at the Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati (2020); HIAP (2019) and Munchmuseet, Oslo (2018, both with Toril Johannessen); ICA, London (2015). She regularly participates in group exhibitions and biennials, including Les Parallèles du Sud, Manifesta 13 (2020), the Lubumbashi Biennale (2019), the 21st Biennale of Sydney (2018), the 11th Shanghai Biennale (2016), and the 8th Sharjah Biennial (2007). In 2021, Dijkman was nominated for the Coal Prize, which dedicates its 2021 edition to the crucial issue of forests at the center of the climate crisis and ecological transition. From 27 October 2021 to 3 January 2022, Dijkman will have a solo exhibition at Edith-Russ-Haus in Oldenburg.
Electrify Everything
Marjolijn Dijkman
11 September – 30 October 2021
Opens on 10 September, 5–9pm
Potsdamer Str. 72, Berlin
With the support of: Stiftung Kunstfonds and NEUSTART KULTUR-Programm Mondriaan Foundation (Amsterdam, NL), and FLACC (Genk, BE).
Image credits: Marjolijn Dijkman, Earthing Discharge #10, 2021 (detail)