| Roger Hiorns is a British artist who creates art with chemistry. When I first saw his art, I was in the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. They had exhibitions for 60's style art and 3D art. I came across this object covered in blue crystals, and found out that it was a BMW engine covered in copper sulfate crystals. I researched, and figured out that he makes art out of found objects. His art made me think of chemistry class because he includes things in his art that involve chemistry. "His methods have been compared to alchemy because of his experimental processes with which he juxtaposes and coalesces materials that include glass fiber, metal, foam, ceramics, crystals, brain matter, and fire." He is known for his series of sculptures where he took car engines and dipped them in copper sulfate solution, then exposed to air. The chemical reactions made crystals that coated and nearly made parts of the engines unrecognizable. He has also made an entire room become covered in blue crystals. In 2008, he pumped 75,000 litres of copper sulfate solution into a hole in the ceiling of an abandoned flat or apartment, let it react for about a month, and turned the living space into a crystal wonderland. The bath, ceiling, floor, and walls were covered in blue crystals. I could not find what he specifically mixed together to make the crystals form onto the objects he used, but I found a similar recipe. All you need in to make basic copper sulfate crystals is copper sulfate, a container or jar, and water. You would then stir copper sulfate into extremely hot water until every bit is dissolved. The last step is to pour it into your container, and wait for the crystals to grow. To get even bigger and a lot more crystals, you would grow a seed crystal. Pour the saturated copper sulfate solution into a dish, let sit over night, and pick the crystal seed of your choice. Tie the crystal to a nylon fishing line. I would really like to try and submerge an object in copper sulfate solution like Roger Hiorns has done for a lot of his art pieces. I am really interested in this type of art and would possibly like to try this someday. |