Work info:

Alexander Salvesen
A Bright Future, 2024
7+1 channel analog large scale dia projection
Size variable
Exhibited at Fabrikshallen, Borgå Konstfabrik, Borgå Feb 9.-10, 2024

Work text:

Mass extinction, inequality, and other trivial everyday annoyances.
Misunderstandings, vilification, and other little screw ups.
Wars, genocide, energy crises, and other minor disturbances.
Nothing but small health problems, cancer, tumours, and the like.
Laws, empathy, and other annoying obstacles.
Global warming, famine, and other unnecessary concerns.

There are a staggering amount of problems in the world. Our current conservative right-wing thinking is hindering the progress towards a better future. The limits of growth were reached long ago, yet the practices remain unchanged. What then when nothing is enough and more is more? We all know the consequences, but changing lifestyles, consumption habits, and thinking have proven to be extremely difficult on both the systemic and individual levels.

However, the most idiotic of these problems is light pollution. It affects everywhere and everything. Never before in the history of the Earth has the rhythm of night and day been tampered with. Light is now everywhere, even where (and especially where) it shouldn’t be. Light pollution increases the likelihood of certain cancers, causing a wide range of health problems from sleep difficulties to obesity and immune system issues. The number of pollinating insects has plummeted, and insect species are disappearing at a rate of about 3% per year, with more than 2/3 of them needing darkness to live and pollinate plants. The energy consumption of artificial light accounts for about 10% of global energy consumption, and light pollution emanating into space from the EU and USA is equivalent to the annual emissions of about 20 million gasoline-powered cars. Unnecessary light, unnecessary deaths, unnecessary diseases, unnecessary emissions.

Turning off the light is just a button press away.
On. Off.

A bright future is a 7+1-channel analog diaprojection implemented with Pani projectors, created at the Porvoo Art Factory residency in January-February 2024. The work is a commissioned piece for the Cultural Services of the city of Porvoo.

Borgå 8.2.2024
Notes, references and background