"Steel Life" aims to explore how the challenges of the steel industry can be transformed into a new narrative that addresses the current planetary crisis. The convergence of iron and carbon, which propelled human industrialisation, has also accelerated our detachment from the natural world, resulting in our subjugation of the environment and its resources. Too often, we have viewed ‘nature’ as a commodity to be exploited, with steel serving as a powerful tool in this process.

The installation wants to uncover the imaginative possibilities at the intersection of science and art, demonstrating how minerals can be coaxed into flourishing. By replicating the electrochemical methods employed in the refining of stones, the project gives rise to a fresh form of iron that blooms into dazzling crystalline structures. This metamorphosis symbolizes our ability to generate unpredicted growth and aesthetics, inspiring us to reimagine our relationship with the world we inhabit.

The project is part of research conducted in Wallonia, the French-speaking region in southern Belgium. During the Industrial Revolution, these territories were second only to the United Kingdom in Europe's drive towards modernisation. Vast deposits of coal and iron brought wealth to the region and made the culture and economy of the entire country flourish. In recent decades, following the nation's transition to a service economy, Wallonia's industry has decayed into a rusty wasteland of flourishing remains./