As landscape architecture often deals with the public sector and in particular social housing I thought it would be interesting to see how British artist Roger Hiorns created an unexpected sculptural form within an abandoned housing estate in Elephant & Castle due for demolition.
Hiorns has always been interested in making use of unlikely materials such as engines, detergent, disinfectant, steel poles and in this case copper sulphate.
Seizure was created by first making structural alterations to flat 159 to turn it into a completely watertight tank reinforced on the outside but leaving the ceiling accessible by puncturing holes to the flat above. Now that the flat was prepared for its transformation the copper sulphate needed to be prepared. hundreds of bags of the chemical was mixed, on site, with very hot water in large steel tanks. More than 70,000 litres of the solution was now ready to be pumped into 159. An initial temperature of 60 degrees centigrade was needed for the chemical reaction to take place. Nearly three weeks later the temperature had dropped to around 30 degrees and the crystallisation was complete. The liquid was drained and the crystalised caves had been achieved.
The results were impressive and surreal at the same time. On arrival we were told to put on wellies and gloves and at this point was intrigued as to what I was about to witness. A mass of blue crystals flickering white from the sun through the doorway. It was unbelievable how such an extreme transformation could be created from a chemical reaction it was like walking into an someones house that had been infected or mutated by some alien species . Seeing the bathtub and light fittings covered in these crystals was the most interesting and it was a shame that all household items hadn't been left in flat 159, such as a sofa and bed, as seeing everyday objects in this way would have been really interesting.
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