Lithium Dreams: Extraction in the Salar de Atacama
A lecture by architect and researcher Godofredo Enes Pereira explores the consequences of lithium extraction in the Atacama Desert in Chile. This is the first in the 'Lithium' lecture series, discussing the role of this element in different conditions of burn-out.
19 November 2020 19:30 - 21:00
TNL! Lithium 19.11.2020, 'Lithium Dreams: Extraction in the Salar de Atacama'
Lithium Dreams
Desertification, the death of microbial life and social paranoia: these are some of the many consequences of lithium extraction. Assembled as a fast-paced visual essay, Lithium Dreams moves through the collapsing ecologies of the Atacama Desert in Chile, highlighting the importance of unnatural alliances and symbioses for imagining non-extractive models of development.
The conversation will elaborate on the installation The Ends of the World by Godofredo Enes Pereira, Lithium Triangle Studio and Nicolás Jaar. This collaborative work addresses the impact of extraction on the various peoples and beings of the desert, and is part of the exhibition _Lithium_, currently on display at Het Nieuwe Instituut.
Godofredo Enes Pereira
Godofredo Enes Pereira is an architect and researcher. He is the head of programme for the MA in environmental architecture at the Royal College of Art, London. For the past decade, he has been researching, publishing and exhibiting on environmental architecture and collective politics. He is currently developing research on the Lithium Triangle across Chile, Bolivia and Argentina.
TNL! Lithium
Complementary to _Lithium_, currently on show at Het Nieuwe Instituut, this discursive programme serves to recharge online visitors with a series of lectures and conversations. From mineral extraction to mental exhaustion and renewable energy landscapes, each event will expand on the role of lithium in different conditions of burn-out as addressed in the exhibition.