Maria Kuptsova

H₂ÉYOS is a media installation in which matter operates as a distributed computational system. The work establishes a recursive cycle of recoding across physical, digital, and ecological realms: from the electrochemical growth of copper crystals to their computational interpretation and back into matter.

 

The project begins by growing copper crystals through electrolysis. Crystal growth follows the principles of diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA), where ions moving through Brownian motion attach to a cathode, forming fractal structures that respond to subtle environmental conditions. Countless microscopic electrochemical events generate fractal structures whose growth is never predetermined. Instead, it emerges through the interaction of physical forces, probability and time. 

 

 

 

These formations are translated into digital datasets and re-materialized through metal 3D printing. Using Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM), a robotic arm deposits molten steel layer by layer. The robot does not simply execute instructions. During fabrication, thermal fluctuations, vibrations, and the properties of the alloy introduce new variations, extending the process of formation. The final form emerges through the collaboration between the artist, the machine and the material itself, as heat, gravity, cooling and the behaviour of molten metal continuously reshape the work.

 

The printed sculpture remains an open system. An integrated capillary irrigation network continuously delivers water to its surface, initiating crystallization and corrosion. As water flows, it records its own movement in patterns of corrosion and mineral deposition, encoding a material memory of its trajectories. Its traces become encoded in the material memory of the sculpture, emerging as patterns of corrosion and mineral deposition. Each state of the object becomes the input for the next transformation, while matter continuously recodes its own structure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artist: Maria Kuptsova

Curator: Dmitry Bulatov

Team: Gleb Andreev, Korbinian Enzinger, Artem Konevskikh

Video & Graphics: Maria Kuptsova, Korbinian Enzinger

Sound: Sergey Kostyrko

Special thanks to the Digital Built Environment (D-Be) Department, Kyushu University; XWeld team and personally to Dmitry Trushnikov and Arseny Artemov

The project was realised within the Art&Science Residency Program of the Center for Sociocultural Projects “INART”, with technical support by xWeld. Residency director: Lyubov Orlova