Roger Hiorns: Seizure

To create, an artist must mix substances. Traditionally, pencil meets paper, paint meets canvas, plaster meets water. However, as art progresses, artists become more experimental with materials.
In the case of Roger Hiorns, copper sulphate has been applied to a disused council flat to create this crystallized set of rooms. The artist has pumped the copper sulphate in to the flat, left the solution to crystallize at a cool temperature and then drained the solution back out again.
"I'm not a scientist. I'm more concerned with starting a natural process which will go on happening by itself. It's never ending. It won't stop, whatever you do."
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It is interesting that Hiorns does not identify as a scientist, but as an artist instead. This work displays a defined balance between order and chaos. The scientific process in which the crystals have been created would need to have been very precise, however chaos dictates when and where the crystals will grow.
Additionally, as visitors to "Seizure" crush the crystals on the floor and brush against the walls, the work evolves as people pass through.

Labels: 2009, Artist, Chemistry, Crystal, Crystallised, Crystallization, Roger Hiorns, Seizure, Tate, The Turner Prize