Alexis Destoop, The Pits, 2022, Photo the artist
How is technological innovation dependent on raw materials? This question is center-stage in the exhibition Charging Myths by On-Trade-Off. This artists-collective traces the origins of lithium by starting from Manono, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The landscape of this former mining town is a relic of the colonial past. Today the town is getting ready to be a key player in the race towards green energy, following the nearby discovery of the world’s largest deposits of lithium ore.
Jean Katambayi Mukendi, The Concentrator, (detail), 2022. Installation view, Z33, Hasselt, Belgium, 2022. © Kristof Vrancken
George Senga, Tshanga-Tshanga (Mille-Bêches), 2022, Photo the artist
Alain Nsenga, Fantasmagoria, 2022, Photo the artist
Alain Nsenga, Fantasmagoria, 2022, Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt (BE). Photo Kristof Vrancken
Marjolijn Dijkman, Cloud to Ground#1, 2021. Detail. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt (BE). Photo Kristof Vrancken
Marjolijn Dijkman, Cloud to Ground#1, 2021. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt (BE). Photo Kristof Vrancken
George Senga, Tshanga-Tshanga (Barsin), 2022. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt (BE). Photo Kristof Vrancken
Marjolijn Dijkman, Depth of Discharge (still), 2021
Marjolijn Dijkman, Depth of Discharge (still), 2021
Presenting lithium as the new gold, this exhibition explores its history and future, as well as the various myths surrounding electricity, energy and the exploitation of minerals. A great many minerals (lithium, cobalt…) help to sustain our modern lifestyle, through their application in the latest smartphones, solar panels, electric cars and so on. At the same time, their exploitation relies on unfair labour conditions, which imply little attention for ethics, health or the environment. Often, the interrelated mining efforts give rise to violence, corruption and ethnic conflicts, causing inequality to grow. This process reveals a paradoxical trade-off: while we are inundated by ‘inexpensive’ and ‘sustainable’ technology, local communities struggle with a chronical lack of such basic needs as energy and electricity.
Maarten Vanden Eynde & Musasa, What All The World Desires, 2022. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Hasselt (BE). Photo Kristof Vrancken
George Senga, Tshanga-Tshanga, 2022. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt (BE). Photo Kristof Vrancken
Pélagie Gbaguidi, Hunger, 2022, Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt (BE). Photo Kristof Vrancken
Alexis Destoop, The Pits, 2022, Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt, Hasselt (BE). Photo Kristof Vrancken
Jean Katambayi Mukendi, The Concentrator, 2022. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt (BE). Photo Kristof Vrancken
Femke Herregraven, A prelude to When the Dust Unsettles, 2022. Installation view at Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture, Hasselt (BE). Photo Kristof Vrancken
Installation View, Charging Myths, Z33, Hasselt, Belgium, 2022. © Kristof Vrancken
On-Trade-Off maps production chains and unravels social, political and ecological aspects of the global economy. The exhibition presents new works that were developed during residencies and research in various locations, with Manono serving as shared point of departure. As a temporary collective, On-Trade-Off provides an artistic counterbalance to the logic of exploitation, by focussing on transnational exchange, knowledge sharing and fair practice.
Artists: Alexis Destoop, Marjolijn Dijkman, Pélagie Gbaguidi, Femke Herregraven, Alain Nsenga, Dorine Mokha & Elia Rediger, Jean Katambayi Mukendi, Musasa, Georges Senga, Tétshim & Frank Mukunday, Pamela Tulizo, Maarten Vanden Eynde
On-Trade-Off is an artists-project, initiated by Picha (Lubumbashi) & Enough Room for Space (Brussels).
The exhibition is a co-production of Z33 (Hasselt) & Framer Framed (Amsterdam)
Charging Myths / On-Trade-Off
Curators: the artists & Ils Huygens
March 6 – August 21, 2022 / Z33 House for Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture
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