Fakes and Substitutes (2020)
11" x 1" x 3"
Selenite, Plaster of Paris
Selenite, a naturally occurring mineral known for its metaphysical properties of clarity and healing, is composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO4·2H2O).
Plaster of Paris is made up of partially hydrated calcium sulfate (CaSO4·1/2H2O). When water is added to plaster of paris, it reacts to form calcium sulfate dihydrate.
Fakes and Substitutes is an inquiry into reproduction, and synthetics. Both the original and the duplicates have the same chemical composition, but one has been shaped by geological time while the other combines this with human intervention, in the process losing its property of clarity.
What then are the properties of this copy? Has it lost its crystal essence? Does being-ness come from surface and structure or from esoteric experience?