Hole in the ground, electromagnet, soil and crystal battery, carving on trees.
Downward, Yet Not Southward consists of a hole in the ground with an electromagnet that affects the magnetism in the area just above the hole. A magnetic compass held over the hole will thus be disturbed and show a different orientation than the Earth’s magnetism.
The hole in the ground is dug down to the bedrock. The electricity for the magnet is created in the soil: It is conducted via copper cables connected to a battery made of copper coils on zinc and copper cylinders, and is fed by the acidity of an alum crystal and the ground itself, which is rich in alum slate.
Made for Anders Elsrud Hultgren’s exhibition Langt inni skauen erre bare mere skau, at Viul, Hønefoss, Norway.
