Julia Bornefeld
Copper Matrix
The 2018 Christmas project is created by Julia Bornefeld. A bright and iridescent object, similar to an elegant Art Nouveau chandelier, hangs at the entrance to Museion – its sparkle is visible even from the outside in the dark, when the museum doors are closed.
Copper Matrix is the work of the artist Julia Bornefeld (Kiel, 1963, lives and works in Berlin and Brunico), which will be inaugurated at Museion on Thursday 29 November at 5pm. The project is part of a now consolidated collaboration between the Bolzano Tourist Board and Museion which has seen, over the years, the creation of various Christmas projects such as Energy Free Tree, the large tree made up of car scraps by the artist Gianni Pettena (2017) and the video Endless (2016) by the Swiss artist John Armleder, presented again this year in December as part of his solo show at Museion.
Copper Matrix by artist Julia Bornefeld welcomes the public as a refined presence, which refers to the Christmas atmosphere and decorations. The elegance and preciousness of the object are in contrast with the material with which it was made: the installation is in fact composed of thousands of one cent coins, arranged in a spiral movement and illuminated by small points of light. As is known, while maintaining legal value, the minting of these coins was suspended in January 2018. As often happens in his works, the artist therefore plays with the ambiguity of the concept of value - both of the work and of the material with which is accomplished.
The coins are in fact made of copper, a metal that boasts a long history in various cultures: in ancient Greece the coins were made of copper because this noble metal and its alloys are suitable for coinability and resistance. But copper is also known for its beneficial properties - as antibacterial and healing and was also used, in some cultures, in shamanic rituals. In the work Copper Matrix the history of this metal and its role are therefore compared on the one hand with the fugacity of money and its change in terms of value and, on the other, with the new value assumed by the work of art in the context in which it is presented.
The invitation to Julia Bornefeld is part of the Level 0 project in collaboration with ArtVerona, the modern and contemporary art fair of the city of Verona
Julia Bornefeld
Copper Matrix
Exhibition
