The Matters of Slag project explores the residues of mining and their aesthetic, technological, and social implications on both a material and conceptual level. In Austria, iron ore has been mined and processed into metals for centuries. Every everyday metal object—be it a screw, a fork, or a bridge—is no longer connected to its original source in the landscape. Ore extraction necessitates massive landscape transformations and brings to light materials often labeled as waste. This process generates diverse forms of slag as byproducts of steel production. However, this slag is not merely waste—it contains valuable pigments that carry within them the history of their own creation.
With this ongoing project, our aim is to utilize these pigments in an experimental design practice to make visible the pathways and narratives of these complex material processes. In doing so, we interweave materiality and context, reflecting on the interactions between technology, craftsmanship, and social structures.
