Antique Skies – an artist talk with Johan Österholm

To conclude the exhibition Disobedient Stars, we invite anyone interested in contemporary art, photography and astronomy to a meeting with Swedish artist Johan Österholm, whose work focuses on the phenomenon of artificial light pollution and its impact on our perception of the sky, time and memory. The conversation will be moderated by Katarzyna Czeczot, curator and cultural historian.

During the meeting, we will talk about the longing for the view of the night sky. About constellations that have disappeared from the firmament. About the popular uprising against gas lamps in 19th-century Europe. And also about Johan Österholm’s personal history, intertwined with photographs taken by his grandfather, a military photographer and silent witness to the decline of the analogue era.

Johan Österholm, an artist living and working in Stockholm, uses photography to reflect on light pollution. In his work, he combines archival images with old photographic techniques. The exhibition Disobedient Stars features three of his works, two photographs: Some Moon Walks (Dixcart Forest) and Some Moon Walks (Wild Garlic), and an installation entitled Luminous Reign (Toppled).

The meeting with Johan Österholm will not only be an opportunity to take a closer look at his creative practice, but also to reflect together on what we lose when night ceases to be dark. How does this affect our biological rhythms, our relationship with the non-human world, but also our imagination? This is a unique opportunity to meet an artist who, through his practice, questions our contemporary relationship with night, technology and our lost communion with the stars.

During the meeting, you will be able to purchase Johan Österholm’s art book Antique Skies, published by Bored Wolves. It is a unique publication documenting the artistic process. Johan Österholm creates works using blank pages from 19th-century astronomy books. In his hands, they become the backdrop for reconstructed images of stars that are disappearing today due to light pollution. The book brings together the past and the present, traditional photographic techniques and reflections on the loss of natural darkness. It is a poetic tale of time, light and memory – both personal and universal.

The conversation will be moderated by Katarzyna Czeczot – cultural historian, author of the book Ofelism: Romantic Appropriations, Feminist Interventions (Ofelizm. Romantyczne zawłaszczenia, feministyczne interwencje), and curator of the exhibition Disobedient Stars.

The meeting will be held in English and translated into Polish, with an opportunity to ask questions.

Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland from the Fund for the Promotion of Culture – a special-purpose state fund.