Tide ruler

Tide ruler
2000
Glass plates, Amoniumchlorid crystal, metal framed
400 x 40 x 8 cm
The name of the work refers to the measure points that you find in places were the water high is constantly changing and monitored. At some places the records cover centuries, for example as in Amsterdam, where data dating back to 1700 is available.
At low water, surfaces are exposed or ‘emerged’ whereas at high water and ‘immersed’ when underwater. When the water level falls it is marking the landscape with mineral sedimentation. Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow that becomes visible in patterns of erosion and in depositions observed on the surfaces of the involved material (rocks, trees, boats etc.)
In geology or physical geography the sediment transport and fluvial processes relate to flowing water in natural systems. Beach sands and river channel deposits are examples of fluvial transport and deposition, though sediment also often settles out of slow-moving or standing water in lakes and oceans. Sediment moved by water is fixed by its density and viscosity. In typical rivers the maximum size of this sediment is of sand and gravel (<32>), but larger floods can carry boulders.
Finland is a living example of the enormous powers of water and ices that have smooth grinded rock surfaces and randomly piled boulders (in eastern direction). The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Finland is also one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about 7 square kilometers (2.7 square miles) a year.
In the work Tide ruler I wanted to comment on the idea of a transitory landscape by combining visible grows within a measurable system. For this installation I was using in water dissolved ammonium chloride a chemical that regenerates into crystal when the water is vaporizing. Numbers and marks stand for the time (hours) in which the crystals grew in bounded areas of different sizes.