Copyright 2024
Website sponsored by
DEATH OF THE MILKY WAY
Danske Grafikeres Hus, Copenhagen, Denmark
01.10.2022 - 23.10.2022
Press release
450 years ago, on 11 November 1572, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) discovered a new star in the constellation Cassiopeia, which he named "De Nova Stella" (The New Star). The discovery was an astronomical sensation, and Brahe won international acclaim for his ground-breaking observatio. Until then it was believed that the starry sky was unchanging. But what Brahe did not know was that it was not the birth of a star, that he had seen, but rather a supernova, the death of a star.
Death of The Milky Way takes us on a journey into the world and history of astronomy to investigate how observations of the starry sky have formed the basis for various changing worldviews throughout the ages. With light pollution of the night sky as the point of departure, which means that you can no longer see the Milky Way from the streets of Copenhagen, we are invited to reflect on the significance of the stars and how over-illumination of the earth affects us and our world. In a way, you can say that street lighting has killed the Milky Way.
Inspired by the area of Nyboder that surrounds Danske Grafikere, with street lighting appearing as it did in 1910, standing in sharp contrast to the rest of Copenhagen's illuminated streets, Svensgaard shows new work in photogravure; Death of The Milky Way, The Colourful Aftermath Of A Violent Stellar Death I-IX, Star Alchemy. Gold | Silver | Copper, Tycho's New Star and Mirror For The Future.
Fragments of a huge cast iron street lamp lie scattered on the ground floor of Danske Grafikere and illuminate the exhibition space. The amputated four lanterns of the street lamp cast their shadows through the exhibition, just as the street lights cast their shadows on the starry sky. Svensgaard has metaphorically worked with dead stars and shows a series of star portraits of supernova, CAS A and SN 1572, the star that Tycho Brahe observed in 1572. She has worked with the graphic technique photogravure, where UV light etches an image into the printing plate. For Svensgaard, this technique has been an important choice, as UV light is a light source that also comes from the stars.