FINITE
2023
Hand-made drill press, Newcastle coal fragments, speakers, PVC curtain, soundscape
Soundscape by Ben Hewett
Machinery reconditioned by Ethan Smith, School of Architecture and Built Environment Makerspace
The most efficient and cost-effective way of extracting coal from seams close to the surface demands a process of drilling, fracturing and excavating. Historically, mining saw some of the greatest advances in the technologies of early Modernity, however as the scale of operations increased, and open cuts expanded, a strategy of explosives was, and continues to be employed. These explosives are detonated in vast quantities to remove huge tracts of surface material.
For those that live and work at the coal face of these industries, this ceaseless violence on the earth is inescapable. This installation is directed at the majority population: those of us who enjoy a stable energy supply while hoping for a carbon neutral future. This installation is a crime scene, a laboratory, and a workshop. It is an invitation to participate, an opportunity to listen and watch, and a reminder of one’s own complicity in these extractive processes.