How easy can you get hold of precious metals and stones in their natural form? Gold, copper, tantalum, aluminum is surely more commonly seen in varying forms of artifacts such as technological, artistic, auto parts, electric, machinery, etc. In addition to their number of applications, these metals also have great recycling properties, giving life to new devices at any time.
However, once the precious elements leave their mineral form, there is no way back to it until two artists had a great idea to create an artificial mineral from old metal parts. As part of the project “Revital Cohen and Tuur Van Balen” an artificial mineral was created: H / AlCuTaAu. The project was commissioned for Arbeid van de Dag, De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam.
The artwork uses precious metals and stones that previously comprised old computers, electric drills, cellphones, and other machinery components recovered from a bankrupt factory. The reverse-engineering work is a result of extensive research and “speaks of the provenance of technological artifacts and the value of labor”, says Cohen and van Balen, the artists behind the art piece. They have a really poetic way of showing the tension and entanglement between technology and nature to create artificial minerals, unnatural animals and poetic machines.
Cohen and van Balen are well known artists with art pieces such as 75 Watt acquired as a permanent collection by the Museum of Modern Art, MOMA in New York City.
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Source and pictures: cohenvanbalen.com, thecreatorsproject.vice.com, nextnature.net
Camilla G.//SMC Editor
Shanghai Metal Corporation 
