Min[d]ing Crsytals

Irene de Boer received a grant to develop new work. In the project Min[d]ing Crystals, Irene investigates geothermal activity, volcanology and various forms of radiation and heat related to the human body. Both constructive and deconstructive; from fermented (rice bran) enzyme baths to research on radioactivity and inflammation. In her work she bridges (pseudo)science, spirituality and vulcanology with technology and (social) media strategies In short, an ecological study of artificiality and the natural.

Irene works and lives in Amsterdam and grew up in the farmland and epicenter of the mining industry of the Netherlands. After completing her Master of Arts in Painting at the Frank Mohr Institute in Groningen in 2018, she studied at CalArts: California Institute of the Arts and Otis College of Art and Design in the United States. She works with professionals in the fields of Material Culture, Art History and Organic Material Science, combining contemporary techniques with traditional media. She is interested in how patterns with origins in nature are adopted into culture and how synthetic aspects of our culture become artificial nature.