From the perspective of geological time, the production of a loudspeaker can take a million years. Copper, which is essential for converting electronic signals to sound, forms through a series of geological events in the Earths crust before it is accessible for human production. Considering this vast process, how is a loudspeaker related to nature? How can it be planted, grown and harvested? And can copper conduct a memory, through the object it becomes?

Re-conduct was a site-specific sound installation developed during the UNM residency at the old copper mine Ställbergs gruva in May 2024 and exhibited at the UNM Festival in August 2024.

The piece focuses on the nature, materiality and visual identity of electronic machinery and instruments. It reflects on the origins of machines, how they relate to nature, and what kind of craftmanship humans have evolved to create electronic components. In this context, copper is an essential element because of its connectivity and is used to make loudspeakers.

Re-conduct includes homemade loudspeakers that combine copper coils and magnets with local natural materials. It is an attempt to re-locate the origins of the speaker’s material, to grow and harvest this machine, to re-connect with its historical and material origin, and to re-conduct electricity through the process of this machine; from its material origin, a copper mine, to its current form.