Attending the ‘Everything at Once’ exhibition at 180 The Strand, I was inspired by the sheer size of the exhibition and the wide range of contemporary art. Amidst all the work, there was one piece in particular that really captured and held my attention, ‘The Black Pot’ (2013), a stop-motion animation by Swedish artists Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg.

Immediately walking into the room, I found myself immersed in the mesmerising video installation. The panoramic film spanning the four walls did not

nor did it obnoxiously force itself on me, an unwilling participant (as I find installations can sometimes do).

The animation consisted of spheres and bands of coloured light, ebbing, flowing and pulsating against a black background, alongside a soundtrack of ambient electronica. The movements of the forms were natural and organic – reminiscent of something, perhaps nostalgic, yet somehow avoiding sentimentality. It could be argued that the abstracted, surreal animation seems to communicate on more of a subconscious level, perhaps that of a dream-like, hallucinatory state.

loss of meaning, balance – the uncanny

In an interview on the work, Djurberg discusses the inspiration the work draws from ontogenesis (the transformation of an organism from an egg to a mature form). The curation of the work within a ‘darkened, womb-like environment’ could be argued to depict the cycle of life.

I was struck by the undulation of the forms and the way in which they seemed to occupy the space – such as through the use of negative space – purposeful and deliberate. This was alongside the eccentric and hypnotic music of Hans Berg, creating a distinct atmosphere. Experiencing the work in situ, as an immersive and panoramic installation, the ‘poetic and metaphorical abstraction’ is evocative and moving.