ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

Christina Kubisch's 50-Year Survey at Aachen Explores Copper's Hidden Cost

exhibition · 2026-06-05

A survey exhibition in Aachen celebrates 50 years of Christina Kubisch, a pioneer in sound art working with audio, video, and installations. The show highlights her recent work focusing on copper mining, featuring a LED display listing the world's largest copper mines—Escondida, Grasberg, Collahuasi—whose toxic waste poisons groundwater with arsenic and selenium in Chile, Indonesia, and Peru. Kubisch notes that copper is a 'very dirty matter,' linking the material to the production of mobile phones and flat-screen TVs.

Key facts

  • Christina Kubisch is a pioneer in sound art, working with sound, video, and installations.
  • A survey exhibition in Aachen covers 50 years of her work.
  • The exhibition includes a LED display listing major copper mines: Escondida, Grasberg, Collahuasi.
  • Copper mining poisons groundwater with arsenic and selenium in Chile, Indonesia, and Peru.
  • Escondida mine is as large as Manhattan.
  • Kubisch describes copper as a 'very dirty matter.'
  • Copper is essential for mobile phones and flat-screen TVs.
  • The exhibition is featured in the current issue of Der Freitag.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

  • Der Freitag

Locations

  • Aachen
  • Chile
  • Indonesia
  • Peru
  • Escondida
  • Grasberg
  • Collahuasi
  • Manhattan

Sources