hand knitted copper wires, 393 x 141 x 17 in. (1000 cm x 360 x 44 cm)
Once again, I explore in this project the idea of “interconnectedness”, but this time it is a more straight forward approach than in previous projects. The 400 kg of copper wires that I collected from scrap metal recycling centers around Bucharest and which I then hand wove into a network, could remind one of both the neural connections of a human brain (micro perspective) and a global copper web (macro perspective).
Copper has become important to my work for both its physical and philosophical characteristics. It is the physical material that connects the world. Its incorporation into technology (communication, transport) has enabled and increased the mobility of ideas, goods, and people, impacting the nature and physicality of borders.
In the classical world, alchemy associated seven metals with the planets. As one of these materials, copper has a direct association both with human history and the cosmos.
Think of the last time you connected with someone. Perhaps it was via a text message, or a Skype call, or a visit to their home some distance away. In each case, copper was part of the process that enabled the connection.
Throughout the past, present, and future of both transportation and telecommunication, copper has been the common denominator that helps us to connect.
Nearly all vehicles – whether they’re designed for land, air, or sea transportation – have one thing in common: copper. Not only is copper used in the manufacturing of virtually all forms of modern transportation, it’s also the reason that today we have faster, safer and more reliable ways of travelling than ever before.
Bringing such a vast mass of copper inside a gallery space is a statement by itself. It says:
WE ARE ALL CONNECTED!