Nestor Krüger:
Mirrored cracks

October 2022 - Spring 2023

Mirrored cracks was created by reproducing the cracks found on a local vinyl sign and mirroring this network of cracks on both the Y and X axis to create a pattern that extends to the boundaries of the light box print. The process to describe the cracking phenomenon of matter, which occurs in small and big stuff is called fracture mechanics sometimes referred to as the physics of failure. Every network of cracks begins with a single crack on a seemingly homogeneous surface. This initial crack advances until it collides with an irregularity in the material. A second crack then forms that advances to or emerges from the first crack because of the release of energy created by the first crack. If the second crack advances toward the first crack it will connect with the first crack at 90 degrees. A historical record of this relationship is its shape. Then, a third crack forms and a fourth, fifth, sixth and so on and so forth until a type of equilibrium is found. The path for each of these cracks is determined by inconsistencies in the material and by the presence of other cracks. A crack advances through a release of energy from stress that has accumulated at its tip. Cracking is irreversible. Cracks cannot close or reverse course. A network of cracks, like in mirrored cracks, provides a history and picture of its growth. A mirror, however, folds that growth back onto itself.


^{Photo documentation by Alison Postma}