(If a man is a man) a woman is a God, Høyersten Contemporary, Bergen
Four Objects: Framed measure: 80 X 55 cm
Mirrors with engraved sentences:
It abounds with life out there (black)
I am not what you see (pink)
Every single atom is a lucky one (black)
If selection removes variation, there will be no variation for selection (pink)
In the Beginning, 2022
Sculpture: black painted steel
Measure: Ø 166 X 240 cm
Photographer: Bjarte Björkum
Curator: Simone Aalbæk Høyersten
Text by Sayeh Kazemi
The egg is one of humanity’s oldest symbols. Across cultures it has represented creation, fertility, transformation, and the beginning of life. At the same time, it remains an ordinary object, that we hold in our hands every day. The egg is at once complete and unfinished, fragile and resilient. It carries the possibility of becoming something else while remaining perfectly self-contained.
The installation combines large sculptural elements and mirrored objects engraved with short texts. The reflective surfaces invite viewers into the work, allowing them to encounter themselves among statements that move between science, philosophy, poetry, evolutionary thought. The engraved texts suggest different ways of understanding existence. Some point towards evolution and biological processes, while others evoke wonder and uncertainty.
The mirrored surfaces continuously change as people move around them. Reflections appear and disappear. Identity works in a similar way. We are not fixed entities, but ongoing processes shaped by memory, biology, relationships, language, and experience. The work ultimately revolves around a simple, but profound question: how is it possible that we are here at all? “Every single atom is a lucky one”. We are the result of countless coincidences unfolding across vast stretches of time.
In the Beginning is about the present moment. About recognizing the extraordinary within the ordinary and experiencing, if only briefly, the mystery of being alive.
