Golden Compositions, 2013-2014

Drill hole map, 120 pieces of sample core stone, 24-carat gold gilding on the faces of the stones where the drill hole contains sections with a gold grade of 1.5 grams/tonne or more.

Overall installation: approx. 7 m H x 14 m W

Location: Saalastinsali at Oulu University

This installation/sculptural work consists of pieces of geological drill samples and a section of a geological survey map, all of which were obtained from a gold mining company, Nordic Mines, operating at Laiva in the region of Raahe, Finland*. One-hundred and twenty pieces of stone were taken out of their archive. The samples come in cylindrical shape in four diameters of 31, 41.8, 50.5, 50.8 mm. Some, however, are halved because the missing halves were sent for laboratory analysis of their composition. The stones are cut into various lengths between 30 and 200 mm and attached to a large wall in a ceremonial hall. It appears as if the placement, or composition, of the stones is in random order, but it is precisely in accordance with the composition of an invisible drill-hole map which was projected onto the wall. The actual map is not visible in the work, but each extracted stone refers its “original” location. From the land to the map, and the map to the wall, geometrical mapping enabled the precise scaling – manipulation and transformation of spaces. In the final result, viewers see a composition of granite stones projecting from the wall, with their various colours exposed. Some of the stone faces are left showing their fractured texture, whereas some are cut flat, polished and gilded with 24 carat gold.

*A gold deposit was anticipated after the discovery of a boulder containing gold by an amateur geologist, Pentti Jämbäck, 32 years before Nordic Mines started mining in 2012.