Geekery

Crystal Method

Posted on 11. May, 2009 by Jake in Experiments

It’s Turner Prize season in the UK. The prestigious contemporary art prize is one of the more controversial on the British culture circuit. Recent winners have included Martin Creed’s The Lights Going On and Off, which is a room with, er, the lights going on and off. Among the 1999 finalists was Tracy Emin’s unmade bed.

This year’s shortlist includes a really unexpected source of beauty. Roger Hiorns has created a breathtaking piece, Seizure, in which he has covered the walls and ceiling of a London flat with copper sulphate crystals. The whole apartment looks like it is made of sparkling dark blue precious jewels (check out these pics).

Hiorns’s crystal sculpture is epic and ambitious (he used 80,000 litres of copper sulphate solution) but there’s no reason you can’t recreate his effect on a smaller scale.

If, like me, you had a chemistry set as a kid (and if you’re like me, you probably never used it) you’ll remember that it included a little packet of copper sulphate. This is less common today, what with copper sulphate being poisonous and all.

But now that we’re responsible adults – or at least adults – it’s finally time to play with chemicals. Here’s a quick and easy recipe for making pretty blue crystals. It’s fun to do with kids, but be sure to supervise them closely. Prevent contact from skin and do not swallow.

Super Easy Method

• Pour copper sulphate solution into hot water
• Pour into a jar
• Wait a couple of days
• Enjoy your crystals

Easy Method

To create better quality crystals, you first need to create a seed crystal.

• Mix copper sulphate into hot water until no more will dissolve (to create a saturated solution)
• Pour a small amount of the solution onto a shallow dish
• Leave this undisturbed overnight
• You will find small crystals on the saucer. Select the best for use as your ‘seed’.

Growing your crystal

• Tie your seed crystal to nylon string (fishing wire is good – dental floss will do) or other suitable line
• Suspend the seed in a jar containing the rest of the copper sulphate solution
• Leave the crystal and solution somewhere where it will not be disturbed. Do not seal the jar
• Leave until satisfied.Enter your crystal into the South African Contemporary Art Awards.

Tip: If you see crystals  growing on the sides of the jar, transfer the solution to a new, clean jar.  Competing crystals will slow the growth of your primary crystal.

Tags: crystal, martin creed, turner prize