This may blow a couple of curious minds. So I’ve put a strong alchemical narrative to my work, playing on the ideas of transformation and immortality, by transforming the bodies of deceased insects and animals. Transformation or “transmutation” is a key ELEMENT (see what I did there) in almost all forms of alchemy. I found a process to grow a new form of crystal by swapping the metal ions. The Cr ions in the purple crystals were traded with Fe ions to make the green crystals you see above. Literally, the crystals transformed. There’s no evidence of the former crystals, they were all converted to a brand new crystal in a single replacement reaction. This at it’s core is incredibly reminiscent of medieval alchemy, and the goal of some it’s respective metallurgists. What’s even more incredible is, this is very common chemistry by today’s standards, and would probably blow the pants off of esoteric alchemists “back in the day”. Thanks for reading my rant! ;)
#tylerthrasher #alchemy #crystallized #cicada #chemistry #tulsa #curio #vultureculture
