I've been using rust for a while in my work, not knowing the chemistry exactly behind or history. I've picked up a book called "Rust: the Longest War"by Jonathan Waldman . It's a narrative based history of rust/corrosion. Ferrum corrumpitur- " latin for Spoiled Iron. One section discusses how the Romans understood rust as being "metaphysically, that the benevolence of nature had inflicted the penalty of rust to limit the power of iron, thus making nothing in the world more mortal than that which is hostile to mortality." Pliny the Elder.
When iron and copper are placed together- the copper will cause the iron to rust. I'm thinking about how I might use this in my work- maybe intentionally weaving copper and iron wire together to see how the rust process works- it also causes a small electrical current- not enough to power anything but it could be an interesting aspect of the work.
The copper will slowly "eat" away at the iron- preserving the copper but destroying the iron. I'm not sure metaphorically what this means yet but it is curious. It's the opposite of a symbiotic relationship and stands in contradiction to 'chasing symbiosis' which I often find artist and designers looking for in their work.
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