UK designer Austin Houldsworth has erected a machine at a park in Cheshire, UK, to fossilise a pineapple and a partridge.

Called 2 Million & 1 AD, the machine is designed to fossilise organic material in a matter of months.

The contraption is on show as part of Tatton Park Biennial and members of the public pump water through it to aid the petrification process.

Tatton Park Biennial continues until 26 September.

Here are some more details from Houldsworth:

Fossilisation Machine commissioned for Tatton Park Biennial.

‘2 Million &1AD’ open to the public from 8th of May to the 26th of September

Tatton Park Biennial 2010, has commissioned artist/designer Austin Houldsworth to build a 4-meter tall, 3 tonne prototype fossilisation machine, which is now located within Tatton Parks formal gardens, near Knutsford. Currently a pineapple and partridge from the Tatton estate are the objects undergoing transformation from organic to mineral, a process that normally takes years.

Houldsworth has designed the machine to operate for the duration of the biennial that lasts five months. During this time, the public pump the 2500 litres of water around the machine – thus becoming an integral part of the fossilisation process.

The machine is the first prototype in a series, which will only ultimately be completed with the petrification (fossilisation) of a Homo sapiens sapiens.

Austin Houldsworth studied Design Interactions at the Royal College of Art. Through his work he strives to create solutions to the problems that are often neglected by industry.

His work often involves chemical reactions, which have been a recurring part of his process. From the intense heat of Thermite within his Surviving with Englishness project, which imagines how a humble cup of tea could be made with just a few minutes remaining on Earth, to the slow geochemical process of petrification in 2 Million & 1 AD. Recently, his work as been part of the award winning ‘Disruptive Thinking’ exhibition at ‘Designersblock’, London. Previous exhibitions include; Microsoft Research, Cambridge; Liverpool Biennial; Site 06 Art Festival, Stroud; as well as numerous film festivals.

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