No Progress. In spite of technology
Inspiration of this motive was visiting an exhibition of the former museum of ethnology (MARKK, Hamburg) about Niter excavation by the city’s businesses in the 20th century. Niter, the mineral form of potassium nitrate, also called the white gold of the desert, contributed to the wealth of the city of Hamburg but also brought environmental destruction, oppression and colonial structures to excavation sites in South America.
Parallels can be drawn to the extractivism concerning the extraction of lithium in the deserts of Chile, Argentina and Bolivia. Lithium is essential for the exit from nuclear and fossil-fuel energy of the global north.
In the name of a green conscience, nature is destroyed (for example the Andean Flamingo), local communities are threatened and a system of exploitation is implemented.
Germany recently implemented a law, making German companies responsible for the protection of local communities and nature, the guarantee of safe working conditions, the abolishment of child labour etc. in their entire supply chain. This law is now under threat as it makes it difficult for these companies to make more money.
Additionally, the motive challenges the idea of cars in general. Surely, there was a development in technology from fossil fuels to electric engines, however, this is no progress in regard of transportation. Germany, as many countries of the global north, still is a nation of cars, where cities are designed catering to the need of individual transportation. There is an urgent need to rethink this.
Thank you to Brooklyn Street Art who published a beautiful article about the work here and to Liebe zur Kunst who organized the wall.
