#09 Valency : Participants : Marinus van der Sluijs

My research interests are very diverse, but the dominant theme is the history of cosmology, in which 'cosmology' is defined in the widest sense as knowledge about the structure, workings and origins of the natural world on all levels, from subatomic particles to galaxies. This includes the history of science proper as well as what may be called traditional cosmology - prescientific conceptions of the world defined more by cultural tradition than direct observation and logic. Of special interest to me are the earlier or more archaic belief systems, such as pre-modern astronomy and global mythology.

One long-term project concerns the emergence of planetary astronomy, primarily in the ancient Near East and the Graeco-Roman world. Another is the mapping of cross-cultural motifs or 'archetypes' in myth, especially in creation mythology. character

These subjects are of an interdisciplinary character, combining aspects of the history of science, the history of religions, art history, comparative mythology, archaeology, anthropology and several other fields on the humanities side with geology, astronomy, physics and other sciences.

- Mircea Eliade ( 1976)

About the participant

In the intersection between chemistry and myth one item that comes to mind is how the old alchemical symbol of the ouroboros (tail-biting serpent) provided August Kekule (via a trance state) with the key to working out the chemical structure of benzene (a loop) - and thereby kickstarted structural chemistry. This was in the middle of the 19th century.

In the exhibition of Valency, I am proposing to do something with that idea, as I have all the sources to hand. I have several publications to my name already on the subject of the ouroboros, including one co-authored with Anthony Peratt (plasma physicist). In the Valency brief, it says that chemistry and art were both associated with magic. I would like to add alchemy to that sentence.

Website: Marinus van der Sluijs