More Black than the Darkness

Gedske Ramløv

More Black than the Darkness

With support from The Danish Arts Foundation and The S.C. Van Foundation (DK)

2024

Bleaching corals Detail from charcoal drawing on 100 % cotton paper, 640 g/m² (1.10 m x 8 m)

Plastic 'continent' Detail from charcoal drawing on 100 % cotton paper, 640 g/m² (1.10 m x 8 m)

Phytoplankton I Detail from charcoal drawing on 100 % cotton paper, 640 g/m² (1.10 m x 8 m)

Phytoplankton II Detail from charcoal drawing on 100 % cotton paper, 640 g/m² (1.10 m x 8 m)

Oil spill at sea Detail from charcoal drawing on 100 % cotton paper, 640 g/m² (1.10 m x 8 m)

Melting ice Detail from charcoal drawing on 100 % cotton paper, 640 g/m² (1.10 m x 8 m)

QR code on 'hand-scroll' One of the QR codes printed on the hand-scroll

QR CODE 1 Scan the QR code to access the 'second layer' of the work

QR CODE 2 Scan the QR code to access the 'second layer' of the work

QR CODE 3 Scan the QR code to access the 'second layer' of the work

QR CODE 4 Scan the QR code to access the 'second layer' of the work

QR CODE 5 Scan the QR code to access the 'second layer' of the work

Pacific Ocean - Plastic 'continent' Drawings with charcoal pencils on straw paper (50 x 30 cm)

Pacific ocean close to Taiwan-Bleaching coral reef Drawings with charcoal pencils on straw paper (50 x 30 cm)

West Atlantic ocean - Abnormal Plankton blooming Drawings with charcoal pencils on straw paper (50 x 30 cm)

Gulf of Mexico - Oil spill at sea Drawings with charcoal pencils on straw paper (50 x 30 cm)

Antarctic ocean - Melting ice Drawings with charcoal pencils on straw paper (50 x 30 cm)

The paper installation More Black than the Darkness depicts a black sea displaying five emblematic 'toposes' that iconically bear witness to the sea as a fragile pulsing organism under the gravitational pull of the moon, threatened by the effects of the ecological crisis.
These manifestations have dynamic forms, whose beauty is clashing with the symptoms they represent. They all fall under the concept of 'Li' (force) associated with Taoism, which can be described as the inherent principle or pattern expressing the materialization of the energy of the universe. (David Wade in 'Li, dynamic form in nature')
The five 'li's represent the plastic 'continents' (Aggregation - 'collocation of elements'), the bleaching coral reefs (Brancha - 'branching patterns'), the abnormal blooming of phytoplankton (Spirals and Helices - 'nature's favorite structure'), oil spills in the sea (Concentra - 'propagation around centres') and the melting sea ice (Angulated - 'formed with angles').
The formalization is inspired by the ancient Chinese 'hand-scrolls' that unfold stories on long horizontal paintings, where the use of contrasts between black and white respond to the Taoist principle of the duality of the totality of the universe, expressed through the two original forces yin and yang.
By scanning the QR codes printed on in the 8-meter-long drawing, alluding to the red seals typically applied to Chinese ink paintings - here imagined as 'portals' - the viewer access to a 'second layer' of the work that represent different areas of the seafloor where inserted quotes from the english philosopher Timothy Morton's book 'Hyperobjects. Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World' are reflecting on the Anthropocene Epoch.

Group show Sensing the Sea (second edition)
The Nordic Contemporary Art Center (NAC), Xiamen, China
Curated by Tijana Mišcović and Cila Brosius

International Artist Exhibition
The Liaohe Art Museum in Panjin City, Liaoning Province, China
Curated by Tong Wang

Paper installation consisting in:

Charcoal drawing on 100 % cotton paper, 640 g/m² (1.10 m x 8 m)

5 drawings with charcoal pencils on straw paper (50 x 30 cm)

Website: www.moreblackthanthedarkness.com

Photo credits by Ye Shaobin 叶少彬