We are Iuliia Gataulina and Natalia Batrakova, we work on the research project Pluriversal Waters, funded by the Kone Foundation and hosted by the Politics Department at Tampere University. Our research explores what happens to the Earth—specifically its waters and subterranean environments—under large-scale extractive capitalism. Iuliia Gataulina is a postdoctoral researcher with a background in political science and international relations, currently transitioning into the field of political ecology. Natalia Batrakova, trained as an architect, contributes to the project as a visual artist. Drawing from international political economy, political ecology, geophilosophy, and Earth sciences, we integrate visual practices into our research, including sketching, animation, photography, and videography. We spent two beautiful weeks in residency at the end of August 2025, closely examining the materialities of mining production: the tunnels, ore extraction and enrichment machinery, and the infrastructure of the mining site. We also visited Outolampi—a nearby lake rendered lifeless due to mine waste dumping. Our interest lies in how human-made machines and infrastructures manipulate the Earth—its waters and subterranean environments—through explosions, excavation, exposure of bedrock, and the creation of new chemical reactions, all in the pursuit of modernity, development, and profit. Beyond understanding the material processes of ore extraction and enrichment, we also experimented with various artistic practices. Natalia engaged deeply with the environment through sketching. Iuliia shot several rolls of film, which will be soaked in water and mud from the contaminated Outolampi area. We are curious to see what emerges from this chemical encounter, as the sulfuric acid present in the lake water interacts with the film’s chemistry. Inspired by the mining environment, we initiated a side photo project tentatively titled A Body of Copper. This project portrays Iuliia’s body moving through the tunnels, the crushing plant, and the waste area. It reflects the journey of copper—extracted and exposed—but also the vulnerabilities of human bodies, through which the extraction of ore from once uninhabitable subterranean environments has been made possible. The work we carried out in Outokumpu is contributing to our upcoming exhibition in Tampere, Frontiers and Temporalities of Extractivism, which will be held at Hirvitalo – Pispala Center for Contemporary Art from September 14 to October 5, 2025. We would like to thank the Old Mine Residency, and especially Esko Vihava, for providing us with the time and space to work in Outokumpu and significantly advance our project. We are also grateful to the fellow artists with whom we shared the residency period. Their inspiring work—and simply their presence in the house—enlivened our time and experience here.