Research Catalogue

This exposition or archive is a work in progress, under construction, for gathering material of encounters with junipers.

Arts-based-philosophy is an emerging research concept at the cutting edge of the arts, philosophy and the Sciences in which cross-disciplinary research collectives align their research practices to finally stage their investigations in field-performances, shared with the public. Our research explores the significance of the HEART in artistic research and performance philosophy from a cross-cultural perspective, partially based on the concepts of the HEART in the works of two artist-philosophers, in which philosophy already became arts-based-philosophy: Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Aurobindo’s poetic opus magnum Savitri. We generally assume that the works of artist-philosophers are not only engaged in “creating concepts” (Deleuze), but their concepts are also meant to be staged artistically to let them bodily matter in fact. The role of the HEART in respect to this process of “bodily mattering” is the core objective under investigation: Firstly, because we hold that atmospheres trigger the HEART of a lived-body to taste the flavor of things it is environmentally engaged with basically in an aesthetic manner (Nietzsche). In this respect the analysis of the classical notion for the aesthete in Indian philosophy and aesthetics, sahṛdaya––which literally means, “somebody, with a HEART”––becomes crucial. Secondly, because the HEART is said to be not just reducible to one’s manifest Nature, but has access to one’s virtual Nature as well. The creation hymn in the oldest of all Vedas (Rgveda) for instance informs us that a HEART is capable of crossing being (sat) & non-being (asat), which makes it fluctuate among these two realms and even allows its aspirations to let virtual possibilities matter. Such concepts show striking similarities with contemporary concepts in philosophy-physics, e.g. the concepts of “virtual particles” and “quantum vacuum fluctuations” (Barad).

This research introduces Psychoformism, an innovative artistic style synthesizing form, emotion, and subconscious energy into a unified aesthetic expression. Positioned within the broader discourse of art history, Psychoformism proposes a fluid, dynamic visual language that transcends traditional bodily representation. The style aims to shift the viewer's role from passive observer to active participant by visually embodying internal emotional states as forms that emerge from subconscious energies. Psychoformism thus provides a conceptual and practical framework for exploring deeper psychological engagement and subjective perception within aesthetic experiences. As proposed by the author, “Form is emotion itself; emotion emerges from within the body and transforms directly into visual form.” (A. Babak, 2025)

White to Earth, 2020

All Tomorrow´s Parties: post pandemic dancing is an artistic research that undertakes the task of discovering how hiv and aids has affected the Norwegian dance scene in the 1980´s and 1990´s and all the way up until today. Many dancers got infected by the virus, lived with hiv, and died of aids. Who were they? What were they dancing? And what kind of dances would they have danced had they not died too early? By interviewing the survivors, this project aims to map out how the Norwegian dance scene was affected by this pandemic, outline the hole left behind by this generation that disappeared, and try to fill it by creating dances that they could have danced.

This paper is an exploration of collaborative artistic practice. Drawing from contemporary philosophy and ethics, it uses practical experience from three collaborative research projects to show how different approaches can be applied in artistic research. The paper draws from three collaborative research projects, each with a slightly different approach. The projects took place between 2018 and 2023, and include collaboration between artists, collaboration with more-than-human colleagues, and research collaboration.