location / date: Parys Mountain, Wales (December 2015); Ambika P3, London
(1 – 5 February 2017); the City of London, Parys Mountain (March 2017 — )
with araucaria araucanas, carbon-dioxide, copper, Mynydd Parys, Duško Jelen,
Isidora Spasović Lebović, Tuomas A. Laitinen
Exhibition views, Ambika P3, London.
Documentation: Marika Troili
Parys mountain (Mynydd Parys) lies on the isle of Anglesey in North Wales. It’s as close as one can get to Mars. Not because it is a rocket launchpad, but because it was thoroughly dug for copper over centuries. First traces of mining date to the Bronze Age, around 1,500 BC. Perhaps Romans tried their tools here too. The mountain was explored and mined occasionally in the 16th and 17th centuries, but with the discovery of a major ore body dates to 2nd of March, 1768, Parys is put on the map of the Empire. From then, two leases and two mines, Mona and Parys, grew to become the largest supplier of copper in the British Isles by 1800 (and, according to some accounts, in the world). The gradual decline of production lead to their closure at the beginning of the 20th century.
project narrative ↠
