Iron: Day 1 | I am rusty
filed under: IronMy whole life led up to this point. The chemistry of my biology.
Today I began to mine what is mine.
Conclusively negligible
But I find what is mine is negligible.
I begin from a starting place that belongs in the past.
I’m sampling myself like the oceans and rivers I study.
Preservation of Naught
I am a mine tailing, I try to precipitate my iron.
Is the pull the moon or magnetism?
I am strong.
I am rusty,
at the flame test.
Kat Austen is a person. In her artistic practice, she focusses on environmental issues. She melds disciplines and media, creating sculptural and new media installations, performances and participatory work. Austen’s practice is underpinned by extensive research and theory, and driven by a motivation to explore how to move towards a more socially and environmentally just future. Working from her studio in Berlin, Austen is currently EMAP / EMARE Artist in Residence at WRO Art Center, Artist Fellow at Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam, Artist in Residence at the Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences, University College London and Senior Teaching Fellow at UCL Arts and Sciences. She is a member of the bbk, an inaugural member of the London Creative Network, co-founder of the DIY Hack the Panke collective in Berlin and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. https://www.katausten.com