Graduation show 2016

Svend Bager
Electrochemical Potential of 150 Poplar Trees
Poplar trees, electric wire, low power boost-converter, LED, multimeter, potentiometer

In his work, Electrochemical Potential of 150 Poplar Trees, Svend Bager examines the connection between nature, culture and technology. 150 poplar trees have been planted in boxes on the exhibition venue’s monumental and classicist balcony. An experiment is here carried out, seeking to clarify whether the effect of an electrochemical potential harvested from the poplar trees is great enough to illuminate an LED light. The electrochemical potential is generated through the transportation of e.g. potassium, calcium and chloride ions up through the tree trunk, as well as the displacement of electrons which serve as electrical signals in the outermost living layers of the trees. Meanwhile, through its interplay with the architecture, the installation also examines the relationship between nature and the spaces culturally established for the purpose of displaying art.

In his work, Svend Bager is largely interested in the aesthetic and practical dimensions of the scientific and artistic experiment, which is for him a utopian means of changing understandings of the way in which we live our lives. The experiments thereby constitute a means of questioning how we attribute value to science.