Petrification

Abstract

Petrification is a process of transformation from cellulose to rock, making it possible to imagine a ceramic artifact with a simple shape, from paper, rope, cotton, wood, or cardboard. It consists of two stages: the infusion of a silica solution into the model, followed by atmospheric pyrolysis. During this firing, carbon, and silica fuse to form silicon carbide, a rigid and abrasive ceramic, technically comparable to that of a diamond. This project—developed by Emile De Visscher in collaboration with scientists from ESPCI (Jérôme Bibette), UPMC (Florence Babonneau), Chimie ParisTech (Philippe Barboux), ENSAD (SACRe, l’Université PSL), and Humboldt Universität (Cluster Matters of Activity) —combines experimental scientific development with research through design to imagine an innovative artisanal manufacturing process. At the heart of the project lies the question of the durability of our forms of knowledge, know-how, and heritage. Petrifaction, as a transmutation of organic matter toward the inorganic, from the vegetal to the mineral, perpetuates ephemeral forms destined to deterioration. At a time when the ecological crisis and capitalism are generating major declines in biological forms (disappearance of species and seed varieties), but also in practices (disappearance of traditional techniques), the question arises of how to keep track of our knowledge and fragile material forms. Beyond its formal technical principle, the process of petrifaction is symbolic in that it invokes a series of cultural contents rooted in many civilizations and regions of the world: in Greek mythology with Medusa, among the Celts with the dolmens, but also in Japanese, Papuan, and pre-Columbian traditions. Ubiquitous in the 18th and 19th centuries, both in connection with the practice of collecting fossils and the development of techniques for petrifying bodies, this process is still very much present in many current cultural forms, such as video games, science-fiction novels, and Hollywood films. This recurrence of petrifaction in the collective imagination refers to fundamental dualities shared between the fantasy of surviving death, the curse of stability, eternal life, or fear of apocalypse. The project thus unfolds as a speculative archaeological proposal, which stabilizes endangered elements for a distant future. The collaboration with Lucile Vareilles and Ophélie Maurus sought to account for this theoretical and historical dimension within the framework of the publication .able. The iconographic element of this project refers us directly to the question of the Anthropocene because it uses firing, certainly energy consuming, to sequester carbon in a land base instead of in the atmosphere. Rather than helplessly endure the relentless accumulation of fossil wastes, plastics, and reinforced concrete, the project explores the possibilities of a collective, and therefore political decision to populate the Anthropocene.