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recrystallization 3-day workshop with Jonathan Kemp, Martin Howse, and Ryan Jordan, Berlin, July 18th - July 20th 2011
recrystallization was convened around the premise that while life itself starts from aperiodic crystals that encode infinite futures within a small number of atoms, the digital crystallization of the flesh by capital limits these futures to the point of exhaustion.
If computers and the minerals from which they are made are considered as equally crystalline, then their recrystallization is only possible through the introduction of vigorous and noisy positive feedback loops.
Where the previous decrystallization workshops had addressed the computational side of this equivalence in recovering some component materials through executing various mechanical and chemical processes on old computers parts, recrystallization refined the attack further by re-purposing elements of discarded computers as the means of their further subversion, as well as in its renewed chemical leachings to successfully recover minerals including gold for asynchronic recombinations.
Processes
Salvaging materials from computer boards
Using Nitric Acid (nitric/distilled water 1:3 mix) to make soluable base metals
Using Electrolysis to recover gold from pins and connectors
re-purposing hard drives as disc grinder/sanders
heating and crushing ICs
Using Aqua Regia (hydrochloric acid/nitric acid 3:1) to recover gold from crushed ICs
Using nitric acid to recover gold from finger connectors
attempting to melt recovered gold
Constructing/testing coherers and negative oscillators made from recovered metals
lo-no amp performance made with re-purposed cd and hard drives
Selected large documentary images: documentation
images by Martin Howse, Kathrin Günter, video by Jonathan Kemp
