We mine minerals, process them from ore to alloy before they enter the circle of manufacturing. Taking resources and materials from the environment is based on our conception of human entitlement, yet the conditions of returning things are more vague. This site-responsive work wants to be a gesture of returning while asking questions about the bigger picture and the roles we play in it.
Reverse Mining is located in the former copper mining area on Brow Head in West Cork, Ireland. Mining has been active here until the 19th century. For this work, I melted small amounts of aluminium, bronze and copper, and poured the liquid metal in crevices mirroring the nearby rock pools. That way, I released the metals from their serving state allowing them to just be. I marked the site with a circle of rocks once the furnace equipment was removed.