On-Trade-Off: Green Gold

The exhibition On-Trade-Off: Green Gold is a collective proposal by Sammy Baloji, Jean Katambayi, Georges Senga, Daddy Tshikaya, Maarten Vanden Eynde and Musasa. It revolves around extraction of mineral resources from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), revealing the problematic side of this industrial system. The ironic title of this exhibition refers to several works on display that take as a starting point the extraction and transformation process of lithium - third element periodic table of elements. Nicknamed 'green gold', lithium is both a fundamental resource for the ecological transition into a fossil fuel free economy, but also an element at the heart of a virulent industry that is harmful for the environment. Enabling the mass production of lithium-ion batteries used by smartphones or cars, it becomes a convenience, a motto, a green label. The "new black gold" then becomes currency, transforming in fact into "green gold".

Extraction, evaporation, purification, calcination. Emblematic of the Anthropocene, the age of man, known for its devastating effects on the planet, these complex processes are unveiled in the exhibited works. Through mediums as varied as painting, sculpture, photography or technical drawing, the five artists are peeling the multiple stages of lithium, cobalt and copper production and trace their origin, which begins in the DRC. Oscillating between scientific aesthetic languages, documentaries, even caricatures, the works are here united according to an organic logic.

On-Trade-Off: Green Gold is part of the ongoing artistic-research project On-Trade-Off, initiated by Picha & Enough Room for Space, that raises awareness about environmental and economic implications of the extraction and processing of lithium, the main raw material needed for the global production of Green Energy.