When the history repeats itself — lithium extraction in D.R. Congo
A conversation between Digital Earth fellow Jean Katambyi and Maarten Vanden Eynde about Katambyi’s Tesla Crash, life realities in D.R. Congo and the issues of Lithium extraction.
Tesla Crash, a speculation, is a handmade 1:1 model of the notorious Tesla Model X in recycled copper wires using a special weaving technique. This wire construction is inspired by miniature replicas of prototypes of wire cars that the children of workers living in mining camps used to be made in Lubumbashi. In the indigenous camps and cities where working-class people on modest incomes live, the invention and creation of games and children’s toys, especially wire cars made of recycled materials, was and still is common. Once the construction of the metal wire 1:1 scale Tesla Model X is complete, a physical simulation of an accident will be made, provoking speculation about the enrichment of the global mineral industry against the background of a local economy that is still static and poor.
Maarten: How did you manage to connect the concept of Digital Earth, relating to digital reality, with the local conditions in D.R. Congo?
Jean: I managed this connection of the Digital Earth concept by organizing verbal exchange campaigns, or in a more structured way, through conferences that involved researchers in the digital domains, the exact sciences, or the human sciences. The objective was to show that the definition of the Digital Earth project, and my research proposal within this project, inevitably meet the realities and living conditions of DR Congo. There is a big contrast between the wealth in natural resources present in our country and the way in which profit is made in the rest of the world with these raw materials, without them coming back or being shared. This role or responsibility still needs explanation or review, since, for quite some time now, Congo has seemed to live in a different reality on its own. While the digital reality wants the world to communicate, thus energy flows are necessary for its smooth running, they are not available in Congo. The richness of the soil against the dysfunction of the civil service and the lack of public ethics are examples among many. This contrast is perceptible in the gap that exists between the popular version of reality and the version of the state institutions. The way in which I manage the concept of Digital Earth is still, to this day, to make a connection between the different viewpoints and align them in order to arrive at a more or less similar understanding of the reality of the country — to allow the application of a remediation solution.
While the digital reality wants the world to communicate, thus energy flows are necessary for its smooth running, they are not available in Congo.
M: How did people relate to and react to the project Tesla Crash, a speculation?
J: Regarding the reaction to Tesla Crash: The public did not understand it and did not support how the explained speculation could end with a ‘Crash’. For them, the crash meant the partial or total destruction of the Tesla. Yet, the speculative ‘Crash’ finds its interpretation in the attempts to relate to another kind of real crash, one that is visible in the way in which exploitation of natural resources is taking place. Or, the lack of a long term strategy focussed on building infrastructures that will accommodate alternative developments in tourism and agronomy for instance. This is a crash of realities which continues today, where new deposits of Lithium are discovered in places where there are not even usable roads. Despite this speculation, the public was shocked to imagine the Tesla Crash by thinking of the time, efforts, and design techniques that went into the making of the work. Fortunately, a Crash occurred automatically in the last phase of the Tesla making, when the copper skeleton structure was force mounted backwards on the existing chassis of the car because otherwise, it would not fit. This means that when you drive the car now, it goes backwards!
M: What was the travel like for you, going to Manono and experiencing both the old and new extraction of raw materials?
J: The trip to Manono was both joyful and fearful at the same time. It was amazing and beautiful to be able to conclude the project for Digital Earth with a rare trip deep inside the Congo. But it was also scary because we did not know what to expect regarding the insecure travel conditions, there was a lot of speculation about the uncertain local situation inside the country. Contrary to what we feared, Manono welcomed us with open arms and it would be a pleasure and wish to return. Manono is an ecological city from the point of view of the vegetation and it retains its originality. The leftovers of the old exploitation gave me the image of a museum with all the old metal parts, quarries, and slag heaps through which we try to understand utopia and history. The preparation of the new Lithium exploitation, as a hope for the population, was also a discovery for me. The people, who do not seem well informed about lithium or its specific use, continue to artisanally exploit the ores of the past which are cassiterite (locally called Cassi) and coltan both of which are not as present anymore. Confronting the views on the old and the new exploitation gave me the feeling of preparing the population for the Future-After-Mining (FAM) — as a way to prevent the repetition of the history, it is necessary to work and deal with the autonomy of alternative ideas and invest in individual professionalization.
The leftovers of the old exploitation gave me the image of a museum with all the old metal parts, quarries, and slag heaps through which we try to understand utopia and history.
Jean: As a mentor of the project Tesla Crash, how do you evaluate the result of our projects in relation to your expectation? And what were the difficulties navigating between the Tesla Crash and the Digital Earth project?
Maarten: I was very keen to be involved in whatever way during the development of the project of Tesla Crash, as it relates to many of my own interests and touches on a lot of contemporary issues including extraction of natural resources, social inequality, (post) colonial realities, and the way history is being manipulated, changed, badly remembered, or even erased. I had no specific expectations since I know that part of making art is improvisation and adapting to situations that occur along the way. On the other hand, I was very confident that the result would surprise us all, you included since making miracles is part of your pallet as an artist. I was very happy and feel privileged to be part of this ambitious project, taking place on such a difficult location with very limited means. It worked out in such a way that I was there on site during the absolute beginning and also at the very end, which not only gave me a unique insight in your way of working but also deepened our friendship. I did not see any difficulties regarding the connection between the Tesla Crash project and Digital Earth. They belong to each other and Tesla Crash was produced in the context of Digital Earth. What I did find difficult however was navigating between the dream, or hope of Digital Earth, to be able to connect to a local reality (from a digital distance) and the actual day-to-day reality on the ground, where actual connection or being connected is part of the many problems the prevent Congo’s participation in a digital reality. There is still a long way to go to be able to communicate and connect in a shared digital reality, specifically for Congo, where most of the vital natural resources that help build a computer and smart phone come from, it is an absolute must to continue to invest in this attempt even though, or specifically because it is so difficult.
What I did find difficult however was navigating between the dream, or hope of Digital Earth, to be able to connect to a local reality (from a digital distance) and the actual day-to-day reality on the ground, where actual connection or being connected is part of the many problems that prevent Congo’s participation in a digital reality.
J: You are one of the people engaged with the issue of Lithium extraction. What kind of message do you want to communicate relating to the traceability of the mineral in the world and specifically in D.R. Congo?
M: Yes, I’m part of the project On-Trade-Off that looks at the extraction, transportation, transformation, and speculation process surrounding Lithium. In a certain way it is a new material, in the sense that only recently it became such a wanted material for part of the so called green revolution, but the way in which the material is being handled looks like any other raw material that has been exploited in the past. In that sense, history is repeating itself, again and again, because in the end economic growth and wealth is still being realised because of constructed and maintained inequality. Not only in relation to access to material goods and quality of life, but also knowledge and access to education. It is part of a strategy to keep people in the dark about what they unearth or dig up, but also what objects are being made of or the processes that take place to make them. It is incomprehensible to me that the people in Manono for instance, working day in day out up to their heads in the mud to collect cassiterite (tin) and coltan, do not know that it is being used to make the cell phones that some of them have in their own pockets. And at the same time, in places far away from this harsh reality, in the so called developed world, the end-consumers do not know what is hidden in their electronic device, let alone in what conditions these minerals are being mined. This not knowing is instrumental in the continuation of persistent inequality.
…history is repeating itself, again and again, because in the end economic growth and wealth is still being realised because of constructed and maintained inequality.
J: In Manono you met with many different people. If you were to be the personal consultant of the local administrator of Manono, what would be your primary concern and goal in order to generate future development?
M: I would put all my energy and means into education as well as access to information. And I do not mean the construction of NGO-schools in remote villages consisting of bricks or mud and a roof — in some cases just wooden benches and if you are lucky an empty notebook and a pen … No, I mean proper schools with books and computers that run with electricity that is constantly available with a connection to the Internet. These are the basic requirements from which you can start to work, because just sending over some book and computers is not going to do the trick. Also, the teachers need to be given access and need time to absorb all this new information in order to construct a curriculum and methodology with the information that fits the local context and reality. I would suggest to map and catalogue natural resources and riches that are present in Manono and decide what makes the most sense to develop first. The presence of huge quantities of Moringa for instance, also known as the miracle tree, is creating huge opportunities, not only because of its nutritional medicinal value, but also as an economic commodity that can be sold or traded. But people don’t know of its specific virtues and discard it or use it as fence or food for the goats. And once these resources are mapped and studied a strategy can be developed to use these resources. The same goes for any kind of mineral, including Lithium. If you don’t know what it is, what it is used for, or how to transform it into something useful yourself, the decision will always be made by others, as to what is done with it. So again: Education and access to information is key in order to know and decide what is valuable to invest in or exploit, or not to engage with at all.
More about the On-Trade-Off project
On-Trade-Off is an ongoing artistic-research project, initiated by Picha in Lubumbashi and Enough Room for Space in Brussels, that raises awareness about the environmental and economic implications of the extraction and processing of Lithium, the main raw material needed for the global production of Green Energy. A naturally occurring element (number three on the periodic table), Lithium is currently considered to be ‘the new black gold’ because of its crucial role in the global transition towards a ‘green and fossil fuel free economy’. Focusing on this one chemical element (Li3), allows the project to zoom in on particular social, ecological, economic, and political phenomena that characterize the production processes that are currently in full development. These phenomena show striking similarities with production chains as we have known them since the start of triangular trade in the 16th century: inhumane labor during the exploitation and extraction processes; a perpetuated economic imbalance to maintain economic growth; uninformed end-consumers that are unaware of both the devastating production chain that led to their purchased wholesale goods, as much as their afterlife in the sense of a lacking recycling scheme. Exploring and exposing the full production chain around Lithium enables On-Trade-Off to connect the seemingly independent phenomena that sustain this recurring misbalance, thus opening a field for reflection about alternatives.
In the course of three years (2019–2021), On-Trade-Off will be developed and presented in various places, formats, and contexts, each presentation focusing on different parts of the storyline.
On-Trade-Off follows the trail of lithium, starting from one specific mine in DR Congo, called Manono, which is now confirmed to contain one of the world’s largest reserves of this raw material. Informed by the complex, global processes to produce sustainable energy, the journey continues to the largest single battery in the world, Tesla’s Energy Storage System in Australia, to finally land in the South of China, the biggest retail hub for electronic- and storage devices worldwide. In order to understand its complexities, the research will start with looking at (industrial) production process from A to Z: Where does the raw material come from? Who owns it? Who takes it out of the ground? Where is it shipped to? What is being made out of it? Who profits from it? What is the true cost of things? What is the afterlife? By dissecting the entire production process and revealing the singular elements and steps within, On-Trade-Off aims to give way to awareness and understanding to both ends of this process (the consumer and the producer) and give back agency to responsibility and the ability to have an impact and voice within the discussion of sustainable world and production. The process is driven by artists and their particular research, yet, in close collaboration and exchange with journalists, academics, and (local) activists throughout the global triangle the project follows.
About the authors
Jean Katambayi Mukendi is a visual artist based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His practice lies at the intersection of technology, mechanics, geometrics and electricity. He fuses his training as an electrician with the influences from his daily life within his works. Driven by complex electrical mechanisms, his installations seek to find solutions for issues within Congolese society through technological investigations.
Maarten Vanden Eynde is a Belgian artist living and working between Belgium and France. In recent years his works were included in the many exhibitions in Milan, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland. In 2005, together with Marjolijn Dijkman, he founded the organisation Enough Room for Space — a mobile platform for site-specific projects.
