Visiting Visual Artist Louise Sparre in her Studio at KH7 Artspace
Text and photography by Nora Benz | February 2022
BioArt is one of best examples of the interaction between art and scientifically driven fields of research and experimentation. Visual Artist Louise Sparre explores the rich nature of BioArt through organic and artificial materials, thereby touching upon the complex dynamic between micro and macro cosmoses. Articulate paid the Danish artist a visit in her studio at KH7 Artspace.
To start with a more general question, can you explain what BioArt is and what it means to you?
BioArt is a very broad area. For me it’s not only about the microscopic but also about nature science and space. It’s a field with different streams of direction which you can then actually put together again because, in the end, everything is connected. The whole world is connected. All living beings are connected and every single one of them has an important place in the world. When we also take space into account, and by this I mean the big bang theory, which is believed to have created all elements we are built of, it really makes sense that when you look out in space or in a space like your body that they are connected with each other as well. And, in my opinion, that is very beautiful and fascinating. Of course I am not an astrologist or a biologist but I take insight and knowledge from the different scientific fields, combine it and bring it together in another constellation. And that’s also what I think is so great about art and creating art. Although you are drawing from science you have this freedom, you can take what you want and don’t have to be too strict. I can draw from the science world, can get different scientific perspectives but I also draw from the art world. In the end I make connections where you would normally not see or do them. And I really like that.
BioArt is a very broad area. For me it’s not only about the microscopic but also about nature science and space. It’s a field with different streams of direction which you can then actually put together again because, in the end, everything is connected. The whole world is connected. All living beings are connected and every single one of them has an important place in the world. When we also take space into account, and by this I mean the big bang theory, which is believed to have created all elements we are built of, it really makes sense that when you look out in space or in a space like your body that they are connected with each other as well. And, in my opinion, that is very beautiful and fascinating. Of course I am not an astrologist or a biologist but I take insight and knowledge from the different scientific fields, combine it and bring it together in another constellation. And that’s also what I think is so great about art and creating art. Although you are drawing from science you have this freedom, you can take what you want and don’t have to be too strict. I can draw from the science world, can get different scientific perspectives but I also draw from the art world. In the end I make connections where you would normally not see or do them. And I really like that.
Do you know when and how your fascination for BioArt and human as well as non-human beings started?
When I look back at the art pieces I did for my application to art school years ago, I see that I was already working with skin and pictures of blood back then. At art school, however, my teachers were not that preoccupied with my work as they were rather conceptual artists and were not really into material stuff. So I got quite insecure and was confused for years because all I made was something they were not really interested in. After some years out of art school I moved to Australia because my husband worked down there; he is actually a scientist working in the fields of neuroscience. I finally realized that in Australia no one knew who I was and that I could do whatever I wanted to do. I thought, when I find it interesting and when I do it, it will be good enough. I mean, there are so many waves in the art world and everything changes all the time. In a way you just have to find the place where it really is interesting and fascinating for you. Because otherwise you will never make interesting art. You need to find a fascination and energy for something, and like a star in space you have to find your own lane. Of course this can be difficult as you develop all the time, everything changes, you go into different directions. In addition, you have to constantly figure out where you are in this whole system and what your voice is. I know it can be tough to question yourself all the time and ask yourself whether what you do makes sense or is interesting. That's why I also sometimes do it the other way round: Working more impulsive, doing some experiments that have to stay and live with me in my studio for a while. With time I see which works make sense and which don’t really work or which have only been a stepping stone. I think, also as I am getting older, I accept more and more that it is important to experiment and give myself time to process in order to get a sense for the art work and what it is up to or what it can be. Often, when you get a bit away from the work, you can see it clearer.
When I look back at the art pieces I did for my application to art school years ago, I see that I was already working with skin and pictures of blood back then. At art school, however, my teachers were not that preoccupied with my work as they were rather conceptual artists and were not really into material stuff. So I got quite insecure and was confused for years because all I made was something they were not really interested in. After some years out of art school I moved to Australia because my husband worked down there; he is actually a scientist working in the fields of neuroscience. I finally realized that in Australia no one knew who I was and that I could do whatever I wanted to do. I thought, when I find it interesting and when I do it, it will be good enough. I mean, there are so many waves in the art world and everything changes all the time. In a way you just have to find the place where it really is interesting and fascinating for you. Because otherwise you will never make interesting art. You need to find a fascination and energy for something, and like a star in space you have to find your own lane. Of course this can be difficult as you develop all the time, everything changes, you go into different directions. In addition, you have to constantly figure out where you are in this whole system and what your voice is. I know it can be tough to question yourself all the time and ask yourself whether what you do makes sense or is interesting. That's why I also sometimes do it the other way round: Working more impulsive, doing some experiments that have to stay and live with me in my studio for a while. With time I see which works make sense and which don’t really work or which have only been a stepping stone. I think, also as I am getting older, I accept more and more that it is important to experiment and give myself time to process in order to get a sense for the art work and what it is up to or what it can be. Often, when you get a bit away from the work, you can see it clearer.
But yeah, this realization in Australia opened up my practice. I started applying for work grants and making art made sense to me again. For so long I didn’t know where my platform or what my voice was, but then it clicked. It was just what I was interested in from the beginning.
I also have to mention that I grew up on the countryside and I was outside all the time. My parents had a little farm and were quite hippie like. They were trained as veterinarians but did not really work in this field; they rather lived from the hand to the mouth. They had their own way to get water and produced most of the things we ate themselves. My parents were also very creative so I think that’s were I got my artistic mind from. On the farm we had all kinds of animals like pigs, cats, dogs, horses, chickens, you name it. And of course I also saw when they were giving birth. That was something that was always so fascinating and beautiful to me. So my upbringing is certainly where my interest in BioArt comes from. I also always liked that nature is not clean. It is very dirty and crazy, it is smelling, and rotting, and growing and falling apart. And these processes, the building up and falling apart, is what really interests me. Every organic being is always in a process. Our bodies are never static, everything is always changing, a constant process of building up and degradation. And very often waste or dead organic material is the starting point for a new organism. So all these processes are what I really like; it’s so wild.
But I also have a fascination for space. I don’t know a lot about it but in a way I like that we don’t know everything. I like that we don’t know if there are other beings out there in space. We try to figure it out, but for me, in a way, the idea of mankind being just a little, little drop in the ocean, in this space, is great. And this is very much my point: the juxtaposition of inside looking in ourselves and the outside look into space. It’s a micro-macro cosmos, isn’t it? We are built of so many cells and everything is so complex, that is what has fascinated me the last couple of years the most.
I also have to mention that I grew up on the countryside and I was outside all the time. My parents had a little farm and were quite hippie like. They were trained as veterinarians but did not really work in this field; they rather lived from the hand to the mouth. They had their own way to get water and produced most of the things we ate themselves. My parents were also very creative so I think that’s were I got my artistic mind from. On the farm we had all kinds of animals like pigs, cats, dogs, horses, chickens, you name it. And of course I also saw when they were giving birth. That was something that was always so fascinating and beautiful to me. So my upbringing is certainly where my interest in BioArt comes from. I also always liked that nature is not clean. It is very dirty and crazy, it is smelling, and rotting, and growing and falling apart. And these processes, the building up and falling apart, is what really interests me. Every organic being is always in a process. Our bodies are never static, everything is always changing, a constant process of building up and degradation. And very often waste or dead organic material is the starting point for a new organism. So all these processes are what I really like; it’s so wild.
But I also have a fascination for space. I don’t know a lot about it but in a way I like that we don’t know everything. I like that we don’t know if there are other beings out there in space. We try to figure it out, but for me, in a way, the idea of mankind being just a little, little drop in the ocean, in this space, is great. And this is very much my point: the juxtaposition of inside looking in ourselves and the outside look into space. It’s a micro-macro cosmos, isn’t it? We are built of so many cells and everything is so complex, that is what has fascinated me the last couple of years the most.
Can you tell a little bit more about your project Circle of Control? [’Circle of Control’ 2019 – an iron ring with long blonde hair extensions – references a self-help and coaching concept that encourages a person to focus on things that they apparently have control over (e.g. life choices and attitude) instead of things outside of their control (e.g. genome and place of birth)].
Circle of Control is actually a concept you use in stress coaching. It is about what you can and what you cannot control in your life. And what I did is a circle of / with hair which is actually pointing out a portrait, a person, a subject. But it also moves beyond that and refers to the post-human. I mean, we are really smart and intelligent but when I look around the world, there are still so many wars, it is so primitive. And I am afraid it will never get better. Our intelligence is capped and we have this primitive part in our brain that causes for example feelings of jealousy and sadness or the desire to be loved. We humans are very smart organisms and maybe we are, in a certain way, more intelligent than other organisms or animals are, but on the other hand I wonder if we are happier than wild animals. I don’t necessarily think so. This also points out how complex everything is and that everything can go into different directions. And I really like my pieces to be complex. I like my art to not only be one thing but that it's interpretation also depends on what the viewer brings to the art piece and on what her/his/their story is. I am not so much into art pieces that are narrow and closed, a piece you just look at and that’s it. I really like when my art is thought provoking and starts thought processes about space, the body, mind or intelligence.
Circle of Control is actually a concept you use in stress coaching. It is about what you can and what you cannot control in your life. And what I did is a circle of / with hair which is actually pointing out a portrait, a person, a subject. But it also moves beyond that and refers to the post-human. I mean, we are really smart and intelligent but when I look around the world, there are still so many wars, it is so primitive. And I am afraid it will never get better. Our intelligence is capped and we have this primitive part in our brain that causes for example feelings of jealousy and sadness or the desire to be loved. We humans are very smart organisms and maybe we are, in a certain way, more intelligent than other organisms or animals are, but on the other hand I wonder if we are happier than wild animals. I don’t necessarily think so. This also points out how complex everything is and that everything can go into different directions. And I really like my pieces to be complex. I like my art to not only be one thing but that it's interpretation also depends on what the viewer brings to the art piece and on what her/his/their story is. I am not so much into art pieces that are narrow and closed, a piece you just look at and that’s it. I really like when my art is thought provoking and starts thought processes about space, the body, mind or intelligence.
When you say you want your art to have a deeper meaning, would you also say that you want your art to have an educational, socio-critical or even political agenda?
I'm not that concerned with politics. My interest lies more in nature science, the biological and sensory. That is why I work in the field of BioArt. In contrast to some BioArt artists' work, my practice as such is not laboratory-based research. My studies are more sensuous- and material-based, with the nature science as a starting point. My language is visual and physical. So maybe, one could say, I have an educational or socially critical agenda. Although I think it can be tricky to say that artists have an agenda. But of course in a way we have. But another kind of agenda. What I am really interested in is starting thoughts about something that the viewer has not yet thought of. It starts with the thought I made about my art work and in the end, when I exhibit it, I actually let it free. I have my ideas about my work and I know what I had in mind when creating the project, but I can never control what the viewer gets out of it. But I like that; I like my work to be open and that it depends on the viewer’s imagination. It is about what the viewer brings to the piece and that will decide on what he/she/they will actually get out of it. As long as my art works start a thought process it doesn’t matter to me in which direction the thoughts go. That’s the beautiful thing about art, there is no right or wrong.
I'm not that concerned with politics. My interest lies more in nature science, the biological and sensory. That is why I work in the field of BioArt. In contrast to some BioArt artists' work, my practice as such is not laboratory-based research. My studies are more sensuous- and material-based, with the nature science as a starting point. My language is visual and physical. So maybe, one could say, I have an educational or socially critical agenda. Although I think it can be tricky to say that artists have an agenda. But of course in a way we have. But another kind of agenda. What I am really interested in is starting thoughts about something that the viewer has not yet thought of. It starts with the thought I made about my art work and in the end, when I exhibit it, I actually let it free. I have my ideas about my work and I know what I had in mind when creating the project, but I can never control what the viewer gets out of it. But I like that; I like my work to be open and that it depends on the viewer’s imagination. It is about what the viewer brings to the piece and that will decide on what he/she/they will actually get out of it. As long as my art works start a thought process it doesn’t matter to me in which direction the thoughts go. That’s the beautiful thing about art, there is no right or wrong.
You work with a lot of different materials, do you have a favorite material to work with?
People love to ask this question. I would get so bored if I only had to work with one material. I really enjoy combining different materials. I think every material has a story to itself. For example, I use a lot of silk and I really like juxtaposing this organic material against an artificial, synthetic one because it’s very much like we are as people. When an organic and an artificial material meet, something can happen. I also really enjoy finding new materials and figuring out how I can use them, what their own languages are and what they do or say. Silk is especially fascinating. On the one hand, it involves so many stages: in the beginning, there is a butterfly, then the egg, the worm and then the cocoon, where we spin the silk from. And did you know that silk is so wonderful to wear because it consists of amino acid, which is actually the spit of the worm, which is nearly the same as our skin? It therefore makes a lot of sense that we like wearing silk so much. And all those stories is what I love about materials. Just to name another example, plywood. It is wood but it is also constructed because it is glued together. Thus, it is in-between the natural and the artificial, between the uncontrolled and the controlled. I am also very physical; I feel the world and put my hands in everything. You need to be physically active and you need to touch something, you need to smell, to feel, you need to be in the world. If you cut that away you will become crazy. The physical world, and the material and the senses are intelligences themselves.
People love to ask this question. I would get so bored if I only had to work with one material. I really enjoy combining different materials. I think every material has a story to itself. For example, I use a lot of silk and I really like juxtaposing this organic material against an artificial, synthetic one because it’s very much like we are as people. When an organic and an artificial material meet, something can happen. I also really enjoy finding new materials and figuring out how I can use them, what their own languages are and what they do or say. Silk is especially fascinating. On the one hand, it involves so many stages: in the beginning, there is a butterfly, then the egg, the worm and then the cocoon, where we spin the silk from. And did you know that silk is so wonderful to wear because it consists of amino acid, which is actually the spit of the worm, which is nearly the same as our skin? It therefore makes a lot of sense that we like wearing silk so much. And all those stories is what I love about materials. Just to name another example, plywood. It is wood but it is also constructed because it is glued together. Thus, it is in-between the natural and the artificial, between the uncontrolled and the controlled. I am also very physical; I feel the world and put my hands in everything. You need to be physically active and you need to touch something, you need to smell, to feel, you need to be in the world. If you cut that away you will become crazy. The physical world, and the material and the senses are intelligences themselves.
Is there a difference for you between doing commissioned and non-commissioned art work?
Yes, there is, but in a positive way. When I do a commission I have to be aware of the place the art piece is exhibited in and I also have to be aware of the fact that it will stay there for a longer time. So as artist I need to consider that the art piece needs to be cleaned, that the material should not fade over time and so on. What is also great about commissions is that they sometimes take me to another place. Sometimes I do things for commissions, which then become part of my general practice. It is great how commissions get you thinking. For example, I made a membrane made of silk and latex. It is quite sticky because latex is a living material. As the work had to stay in the exhibition for a longer time, I couldn’t use the latex for my commission because it is too alive. It would have changed and gotten very dusty. So I had to come up with another material. In another regard, I also always have to keep in mind the specific nature of the place I am doing the commission for. If you, for example, do an art piece for a mental health facility, the work can not be super provoking or crazy. So every site is specific and has its particularities. I also have to think differently when there is furniture in the room and when people need to work there. Soon I am exhibiting some of my works in an industrial room. As the space is quite big I have to re-think the way I use the space and find a way to make the proportions of my work fit to the room. And also the walls are not just straight, white walls, so I have to adjust my installation to that as well. I work quite site specific for every show and always think about how the space, the walls and the colors of the walls could align with the art piece I make. In this sense the installation and my work connect with each other, they talk, one object meets another. That is also something I have in mind when I curate an exhibition of other artists for KH7 Artspace, which I co-founded. Generally spoken, I really like commissions because I can affect a place with my work. But of course it also always depends on whom you work with; commissions are also about the people and how open they are.
Yes, there is, but in a positive way. When I do a commission I have to be aware of the place the art piece is exhibited in and I also have to be aware of the fact that it will stay there for a longer time. So as artist I need to consider that the art piece needs to be cleaned, that the material should not fade over time and so on. What is also great about commissions is that they sometimes take me to another place. Sometimes I do things for commissions, which then become part of my general practice. It is great how commissions get you thinking. For example, I made a membrane made of silk and latex. It is quite sticky because latex is a living material. As the work had to stay in the exhibition for a longer time, I couldn’t use the latex for my commission because it is too alive. It would have changed and gotten very dusty. So I had to come up with another material. In another regard, I also always have to keep in mind the specific nature of the place I am doing the commission for. If you, for example, do an art piece for a mental health facility, the work can not be super provoking or crazy. So every site is specific and has its particularities. I also have to think differently when there is furniture in the room and when people need to work there. Soon I am exhibiting some of my works in an industrial room. As the space is quite big I have to re-think the way I use the space and find a way to make the proportions of my work fit to the room. And also the walls are not just straight, white walls, so I have to adjust my installation to that as well. I work quite site specific for every show and always think about how the space, the walls and the colors of the walls could align with the art piece I make. In this sense the installation and my work connect with each other, they talk, one object meets another. That is also something I have in mind when I curate an exhibition of other artists for KH7 Artspace, which I co-founded. Generally spoken, I really like commissions because I can affect a place with my work. But of course it also always depends on whom you work with; commissions are also about the people and how open they are.
Is there anything about Aarhus in particular which enriches your creativity, anything that influences and inspires you?
What I really like about Aarhus is that the sea surrounds it and that there is a big forest. I also like that it is so small that you can walk from one end of the city to the other. Yet, there are a lot of things going on. The art scene in Aarhus, for instance, is quite active and in general it's a dynamic city. I like that. I also like that it is not that big because when cities become too big they can be rough and anonymous to live in. All the people in big cities are just so stressful for my mind. The older I get the more I also realize that going outside and being in nature, cycling, having fresh air, not having people around me all the time, is good for me.
What I really like about Aarhus is that the sea surrounds it and that there is a big forest. I also like that it is so small that you can walk from one end of the city to the other. Yet, there are a lot of things going on. The art scene in Aarhus, for instance, is quite active and in general it's a dynamic city. I like that. I also like that it is not that big because when cities become too big they can be rough and anonymous to live in. All the people in big cities are just so stressful for my mind. The older I get the more I also realize that going outside and being in nature, cycling, having fresh air, not having people around me all the time, is good for me.
Is there anything about being an artist that you don’t like?
All the financial stuff. That’s the worst. But of course it is also part of being an artist, because I need money to live, to pay my studio and also to produce my work. When I was younger I really hated it but by now it has become part of my whole practice and I am getting better at it. Applying for production grants actually also helps me defining what I really want to do, makes me think everything through and helps me getting prepared for the show. It is also good that when filling out these grant applications, you need to explain your work and your plans in a very simple language, which is actually also good for me.
All the financial stuff. That’s the worst. But of course it is also part of being an artist, because I need money to live, to pay my studio and also to produce my work. When I was younger I really hated it but by now it has become part of my whole practice and I am getting better at it. Applying for production grants actually also helps me defining what I really want to do, makes me think everything through and helps me getting prepared for the show. It is also good that when filling out these grant applications, you need to explain your work and your plans in a very simple language, which is actually also good for me.
Do you have a favorite corner, part or thing in your studio?
I spend a lot of time sitting in my armchair. Often I also work with my computer from there. I think I especially like the place because I can see most of my studio from there.
I spend a lot of time sitting in my armchair. Often I also work with my computer from there. I think I especially like the place because I can see most of my studio from there.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on some new hair objects as I’m invited to be a part of a group show in Vienna this summer. I am also preparing and working on a big solo show in Korsør. I will do some big works. Some of them will be made here in my studio but some works also have to be assembled and installed in the exhibition space. Otherwise they would be too difficult to transport as they are too heavy and too big, you wouldn’t even get them out of my studio door. This show is again very site specific. Basically, this is what my spring will mainly look like and I am really looking forward to working on this project.
I am currently working on some new hair objects as I’m invited to be a part of a group show in Vienna this summer. I am also preparing and working on a big solo show in Korsør. I will do some big works. Some of them will be made here in my studio but some works also have to be assembled and installed in the exhibition space. Otherwise they would be too difficult to transport as they are too heavy and too big, you wouldn’t even get them out of my studio door. This show is again very site specific. Basically, this is what my spring will mainly look like and I am really looking forward to working on this project.