LUNÄ, Marjolijn Dijkman, 2011 - ongoing

LUNÄ TALK, hosted by Cargo in Context in collaboration with Vlaams Cultuurhuis de Brakke Grond.

A public program within the frame of the exhibition
ON-TRADE-OFF; THE WEIGHT OF WONDERS

Artists: Sammy Baloji, Marjolijn Dijkman, Jean Katambayi, Georges Senga, Daddy Tshikaya and Maarten Vanden Eynde

About the project On-Trade-Off
On-Trade-Off is a long-term artistic research project by an international group of artists, filmmakers and researchers, that want to bring attention to the ecological, social and economic implications of the extraction and processing of lithium, the most important natural resource for the worldwide production of green energy. In the West, lithium is presented as a major step in the production of ‘green’ energy, while the burdens for the local population, where lithium is extracted, are neglected. On-Trade-Off follows the trace of lithium from its origin, namely the mining town Manono in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the largest lithium ore supply in the world has been discovered. Lithium has been named ‘the new black gold’. A diverse group of artists follows the international trade route via Australia and China to Europe.

With On-Trade-Off; The Weight of Wonders Cargo and de Brakke Grond have combined their strengths for a first presentation in The Netherlands of this extensive project. The exhibition in Cargo mainly hosts new works, developed during the most recent stage of the project.

About the LUNÄ Talk
LUNÄ, developed by Marjolijn Dijkman in 2011, refers to the legacy of the Lunar Society of Birmingham, UK. A produced facsimile of the original table where Lunar Men met, provides a context to speculate and critically explore topics the original society discussed like new scientific and industrial developments, but also art, education and social rights.

In this Amsterdam edition - also moonlit - experts with different scholarly backgrounds will focus on the ecological, social and economic consequences of the extraction and processing of lithium and cobalt. They will look both at the history of electricity and the current use of raw materials from the DRC for electronics and energy storage.

Contributors:
➢ Patricia Fara, historian of science University of Cambridge, UK
➢ Esther de Haan, Manager & Researcher at The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), Amsterdam, NL
➢ Dries Bols, Ceo Lifepwr, Antwerp, BE
➢ Raf Custers, historian, journalist and author of Grondstoffenjagers, Brussels, BE

Hosts: Marjolijn Dijkman and Maarten Vanden Eynde