“The Powder of Sympathy” presents an entanglement of the mythical, geopolitical, and chemical influences of copper. The video revolves around copper’s healing properties and its conductive role in the development of electricity-dependent modern societies. The title refers to a 17th-century recipe that used copper sulfate as the main ingredient. It was believed that with this recipe, one could heal wounds through the air.
“The Powder of Sympathy” combines a frantic flow of images with hissing and rattling sounds. There are corrupted digital files mixed with footage from West Africa, the United States and China. The video is a hypnotic journey to the physical mediation of our existence and an attempt to look at complex ecological systems through a single material.
Courtesy of the artist