Interview: NDSM (Come To) Light artist Johannes Büttner

“I'm not sure if this Free Energy movement should be brought to light.”

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How did this project start for you?

I came to the so-called Free Energy conspiracy theory on track by watching videos suggested to me by the YouTube algorithm. The protagonists in the Free Energy The Internet's niche claim that there are better, cheaper, and more efficient and ecological ways to produce energy. This caught my attention because I think it's one of the biggest challenges we face today. There are voices in that scene who are sure that this knowledge is being suppressed by the authorities and the oil or nuclear lobby.

However, this seems to me to be a conspiracy theory. I found videos and guides from Free Energy prototypes, such as machines and batteries, that promise to produce energy without wasting resources but by using undiscovered energy sources. What fascinates me is this idea of making inventions that should revolutionize our society and our way of life. It's like looking for the “stone of wisdom”: trying to make gold with alchemy, inventing machines that bring peace, and so on.

Some of these projects work as a perpetual mobile machine (which is impossible under the laws of physics), others use energy fields from the Earth or space. Their creators (critical voices would say “pseudo-scientists”) make the fair point that there are many things we don't know yet — just like humanity believed the Earth was flat for a long time. That brings us to another niche of the conspiracy theory on YouTube.
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What do you find most compelling about these theories?

I find it interesting to see how these “utopian” machines are claimed as disruptive technologies and how they are presented in these underground scene. The tech industry loves disruptive technology, referring to a catharsis or cleansing storms that wipe out old systems and habits. Presentations of tech products are usually less questionable than when presenting a perpetual mobile machine. And I agree that there are good reasons for this on one level.

On the other hand, the tech industry largely determines what is seen as utopian today and also what should be swept away by their disruptive technology. We are constantly confronted with new technologies that promise to make our lives better. This technology is also so present that it is very difficult to beat around it. When you are then confronted with a presentation of a machine that produces electricity and thus drives a light bulb — and its inventor tells you that this offers an opportunity to change the world and liberate humanity — that is somehow poetic.

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I got in touch with some of these hobby scientists and asked them if they would provide me with some of their inventions. Eventually, I started working with “crystal batteries”, consisting of sticks of aluminum, copper and magnesium, that make tiny LEDs blink. The myth of these batteries is that they last forever as an endless supply of energy.

“I enjoy leaving the protection of an art space behind me.”

The second work, “Peak Panic,” includes two photos — one of a Coca-Cola bottle mask, and the other shows a DIY candle made from a light bulb. It was interesting for me to revisit this 2016 work through the lens of our current times and the global pandemic. I knew DIY masks and protections from protests, and I also found manuals for building them in Prepper community forums, which are preparing for all kinds of apocalyptic scenarios.

When, at the beginning of the pandemic, I saw images of people carrying these items in supermarkets and public transport, it felt like the battlefield was expanding. We've become accustomed to masks and other safety measures as part of our awareness to take care of ourselves. It's interesting how easily these things can change, and how a homemade mask can take on new meaning over time.

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What role do the elements of light and visibility play in your work?

I'm not sure if this one Free Energy movement “must come to light” or that everyone should know about it. I don't really think so. I'm not trying to give this specific group of people a stage and visibility. Rather, I project my own story about how these ideas are told and developed and confront that with an aesthetic of science fiction and utopian architecture. I don't know how these batteries work. I don't even know if they work. People might say, “These batteries will work forever!” Do we believe in that or not? Or maybe, we just hope it works, fascinated by this promise.

For me, the beauty of light is that it reminds me of things that come to life. Electricity brings a machine to life: when it blinks, it works, and that's when we begin to identify with it.

What is it like for you to show your work in the public space? What do you find valuable or important about that?

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I like to show my work in a public space and enjoy leaving the protection of an art space behind me. Frames, protective walls, the white cube, or simply the fact that we call something an “art space” — all of this makes us handle objects carefully. It is a challenge for me to produce work outside. How does it enter into a dialogue or communicate with the place where it is being exhibited? What is it doing there?

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How do you expect the audience to respond to the work? What kind of interaction do you think they're going to have with it?

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The audience may consist of a few people who deliberately come to see work, but most people just walk by. I try to work with a research background, but that can also be understood by people who do not share this knowledge.

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Your work was previously shown at Into Nature in Drenthe. How do you like to transfer your work to other locations?

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The images were first exhibited in nature, and now they have moved to NDSM. That means they already have their scars — they've seen a lot. They come from their forest retreat, where they recharged in the shade of the trees, and now they are out in civilization. Already a little bit injured, a little bit dirty, and they're likely to get hurt even more in the near future, I hope. I wonder what they will look like in a month.

Maybe it has some graffiti on it — I would really like that. The first location was a nature reserve, which was really beautiful and had forces like wind and rain at play. But at NDSM, there was not only bad weather, but also a carnival in the background, and people coming out of the bars were probably drunk. I'm really glad that my work is facing that.

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The exhibition '(Come To) Light' can be visited free of charge at NDSM in the winter period 2021 - 2022, with different durations and dates per work.

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