Project by: Hoemin Kim
This work frames corrosion as a record of extraction and pollution cycles. Rust traces accumulate as the material residue of these processes, shaped through the interaction of animate and inanimate actors. The temporal inscription of material flows and their entangled agencies are emerged on the surface. Plain steel is first activated with vinegar to initiate corrosion, and salt is applied to accelerate oxidation. This work allows them to manifest through material transformation. Corrosion becomes a medium through which the histories of extraction, circulation, and decay are registered. The resulting surface holds these traces as both evidence and accumulation, where each mark indexes a broader network of forces. In this way, rust operates as an active process that records the ongoing exchanges between matter, environment, and time.
