‘DISASSEMBLY’ is a series of site-specific immersive installations which examine consumer electronics through the lenses of sustainability and global social justice.

 
The artwork explores the untold story of the consumer electronics lifecycle, and the devastating environmental and labor conditions of offshore recycling. Visitors are prompted to learn about, amplify and take action around electronic waste—the fastest growing waste stream in the world.
BMW A/D/O
Brooklyn, NY    2018
Himalayas Museum
Shanghai, China    2017
Smithsonian APAC
New York, NY    2016
THE PROBLEM

Our obsession with affordable consumer goods including electronics has a true cost, usually paid for by the global poor.

Electronic waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world. Yet, there is very little awareness about what happens to our old electronics when we upgrade.

THE CONCEPT

o1.
Raise Awareness about E-waste.

The artwork recreates a modern electronics recycling center where guests perform the role of the factory worker while watching real footage of the global poor disassembling electronics in toxic conditions.

o2.
Prompt Change in Policy.

Through observation and participation, visitors draw personal connections between our insatiable desire for electronics and the impact on individuals and the environment on the other side of the e-waste pathway.

o3.
Connect Communities around Solutions.

Accompanying programming includes a photo exhibition, workshops, and panel discussions to create awareness and emotional connections to the issue, connect key players, and prompt innovative solutions around corporate social responsibility, shifting consumer behavior, and building circular economies.
EXHIBITION

BMW A/D/O
Brooklyn, New York 2018

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Himalayas Museum & Fudan University
Shanghai, China 2017

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Much of the world's electronic waste is illegally shipped and processed in China outside of health and safety regulations.

Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
New York, New York 2016

'Disassembly' was seeded by the Smithsonian APAC, which continues to be involved in ongoing exhibitions of the series.

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WORKSHOPS
In hands on workshops, visitors are invited to deconstruct e-waste and reimagine technological viscera as sculptures which acknowledge the misconception of today’s resource abundance and honor the true cost of consumerism.

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PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Accompanying panel discussions have brought together leading E-waste activists from the government agencies to NGOs, from local business to international manufacturers. Panelists include Stephanie Adrian (USEPA, Global Waste Policy), Jim Puckett (Basel Action Network), Mark Newton (Samsung, Head of Corporate Sustainability) and Kai Loffelbein (photojournalist).
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FABRICATION
"Disassembly" engages local artisans to engineer and construct site-specific executions using local techniques and available materials which are reused after the exhibition is deinstalled. As a result, each execution reflects the aesthetics and industrial processes of the community where it is installed.
By engaging gallery staff and local resources, the installation draws equivalences between craft/trade and high art, native practices and those celebrated by the Art Institution.

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The mission of 'Disassembly' addresses 11 of the SDGs prioritized by the United Nations Development Programme.
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