Jana Hartmann’s work MASTERING the ELEMENTS – a photographic research on the scientific exploration and eventual conquest of nature from the beginnings of alchemy until the present day! – has been conceived and developed through an animated exchange with natural scientists, historians and philosophers.
The selectively framed photographs were taken from scientific experiments in laboratories, natural history exhibits, studio models, and nature itself. By complementing them with excerpts from alchemical writings, scientific papers, and ethical viewpoints, an intriguing cross-disciplinary dialogue between multiple narrational perspectives – the visual artistic, the allegorical alchemistic, the philosophical, and the scientific – is initiated.
The ambiguity of the title of the series hints at a changing perspective towards our natural environment. While the alchemists’ transdisciplinary view on the world strived for a deep UNDERSTANDING of nature’s inner workings, the 18th century saw a transition towards reductionist, fragmented and increasingly abstract natural sciences, seeking DOMINANCE over nature’s bounty.
Juxtaposing the alchemical approach with modern scientific practice exposes various issues associated to today’s prevailing understanding of nature. It reminds us on the historical narrative of nature in which all natural elements were active partners – interrelated and dependent on each other – rather than passive ressources/objects.
It also emphasizes that ethical considerations are of continued – in fact ever growing – relevance in natural sciences. While evaluation of and accountability for the potential consequences of their individual research was at the core of alchemic practice, this has since been socialized and transferred out of the scientific community – thereby urgently necessitating a broader social discourse about the direction and objectives of modern-day research.
History is abundant with scientific findings that had a profound impact on society and the lives of individuals. Hence it is also imperative to acknowledge that the underlying research is not intrinsically unbiased but subject to its respective social and historical environment as well as to varying commercial and political interests.

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