{"id":56592,"date":"2025-08-04T00:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T00:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zealous.co\/about\/?p=56592"},"modified":"2025-09-15T12:35:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T12:35:04","slug":"katie-surridge-from-award-winning-art-to-environmental-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zealous.co\/about\/spotlights\/katie-surridge-from-award-winning-art-to-environmental-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Katie Surridge: From Award-Winning Art to Environmental Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Congratulations on winning third place for Zealous Amplify: Future! How would you describe yourself as a creative? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Thank you to all the judges who voted for me and awarded me third prize.
So many hours of my life were poured into this piece\u2014researching it, building it, and operating it for the public\u2014so it feels incredibly rewarding to see Modern Mining out there, being seen and acknowledged.
As a creative, I\u2019m constantly asking: Where do materials come from?
What fascinates me is how our growing awareness of materials has shaped us as a species. Something magical happened around a fire thousands of years ago, when someone first smelted iron or cast bronze. But somewhere along this vast journey through time, we lost that sense of magic and the rituals that come with making things by hand.
I enjoy creating objects that are both functional and sculptural\u2014sometimes interactive\u2014that gesture toward a time when we were more deeply connected to the things we use and consume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have referenced your interest in making techniques inspired by the past. How do you bring this in to a modern, technology focused world? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I’m really interested in material transformation\u2014not so much in assemblage, but in processes that fundamentally change the nature of a material. My aesthetic often leans into the alchemy of fire, which has played a crucial role in human development for thousands of years.
With Modern Mining, I took apart broken electrical waste with the help of the public, then melted down the copper and aluminium we extracted (or mined from it ) to cast new relics of the future. It was both a communal act and a symbolic one\u2014revealing the raw, elemental core of modern technology.
I think fire and my working with fire is the link between past and present. It still amazes us, even now. It was vital to early metalwork, and it\u2019s still essential in modern production\u2014even if it\u2019s hidden from view. My work is about making that connection visible again. I want to bridge the ancient and the modern by highlighting this enduring relationship between fire, material, and human ingenuity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘Modern Mining’ by Katie Surridge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Your work is an interactive sculptural installation in which members of the public could dismantle their broken electrical waste. What was the public response to this? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The public\u2019s response was beautifully varied. Some people loved the physical side of it\u2014smashing up objects we\u2019re usually told to treasure. Others were incredibly precise, spending hours carefully separating out every tiny component and deeply concerned about where and how components would be recycled.
One of the most memorable moments was with a man who brought in his late father\u2019s phone. He told me he hadn\u2019t known what to do with it until now, but the idea that a bit of copper from it could live on in a new cast relic had really moved him to take part. It made me start thinking about these memories that are stored with in the metals in our old electronics, and the performative element to this installation became a way to give old and unpersonal electrical waste a new form and story.
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In what ways could we bring this idea in to our own homes? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

E-waste is a huge global issue\u2014we rely so heavily on technology, but don\u2019t often think about what happens when it breaks or becomes \u2018outdated\u2019. I think we should start calling it E-resource instead. The word waste makes it sound dirty or useless, when really these objects are full of valuable materials.
One simple step is to buy used or refurbished electronics when you can. And there are some great initiatives out there that recycle e-waste and pass working tech on to people who need it. It\u2019s all about shifting how we see these materials\u2014from something to throw away, to something we can reuse, rethink, and revalue.
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How do you see this project expanding? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m really interested in expanding the project through a collaboration with a scientist I\u2019ve been speaking to who works in bio-leaching. It\u2019s an incredible process where bacteria are fed iron, and in digesting it produce an acidic liquid that can dissolve metals found in printed circuit boards.
It\u2019s still early days (funders, if you’re out there\u2014get in touch! haha), but I see a really exciting future in this\u2014a collaboration between me, the scientist, and the bacteria. It opens up a whole new way of thinking about recycling, transformation, and working with living systems as part of the making process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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