![Iain Ball — [Rare Earth Sculptures] Thulium (Installation I)](https://rtwaymdozgnhgluydsys.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/artwork-images/1ECACE27-1B9D-484F-8B7E-F2157347C9BE/7BC8E5F9-FBB4-480C-BE12-B20E94E780B7/A44CA7E5-36BE-4C86-927C-BA9765655229.jpg)
[Rare Earth Sculptures] Thulium (Installation I)
2013
[Rare Earth Sculptures] Thulium (Installation I, 2013) forms part of the Rare Earth cycle of ENERGY⋮PANGEA. Conceived as a modular vital apparatus interlacing mythology, ecology, and technology, the work combines a Puma Punku H-block replica, a 1,000MW blue laser system, organic matter, crystalline elements, and handheld burial accessories designed as diasporic activators for cognitive and environmental shifts. Thulium explores planetary computation, shifting ecologies, and the entanglement of esoteric mythologies with emerging climate consciousness, continuing to operate as a speculative node within the larger sculptural system.
- Medium
- Documentation Photograph, Archival Relic, NFT (Ethereum)
- Edition
- 1 of 3
- Signed
- Yes
- Condition
- Excellent
- Provenance
- Original installation by Iain Ball / ENERGY⋮PANGEA, 2013. Minted 2025 as 1 of 3 archival documentation in the ENERGY⋮PANGEA Legacy Archive (contract: 0x9663df3b9541f882a43dd160396def7846c23749, Token ID: 4155791600). Directly from the artist’s collection. Artist-retained since creation. Full on-chain provenance is publicly verifiable on Manifold and Etherscan.
- Location
- Ethereum/Arweave
![[Rare Earth Sculptures] Promethium (archival poster III) (1/5 edition)](https://rtwaymdozgnhgluydsys.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/artwork-images/1ecace27-1b9d-484f-8b7e-f2157347c9be/31412b83-3ea5-49ee-a2f3-224263f7d2b5/0.jpg)
Collectors with works by Iain Ball
Artists in conversation
Luc Tuymans
Belgian · b. 1958
Tuymans paints solitary figures and interior scenes with muted, desaturated palettes that generate quiet psychological unease, closely mirroring Ball's intimate figurative approach and unsettling domestic tension.
Vilhelm Hammershøi
Danish · b. 1864
Hammershøi's hushed interior scenes featuring solitary figures, restrained earthy tones, and a melancholic stillness directly parallel Ball's themes of solitude, domesticity, and Northern European realist sensibility.
Peter Doig
British · b. 1959
Doig shares Ball's richly layered paint surfaces, warm yet psychologically charged atmosphere, and contemporary figurative approach rooted in Northern European painterly traditions while maintaining an expressive personal mark.
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