Title: Katanga Bub
Artist: Anne de Vries
Year: 2011
Dimensions: 35.43 × 56.69 inches
Materials: Mobile devices mounted on a lightbox displaying a press image of the Katanga mines in the Congo, rephotographed underwater
About:
Katanga Bub brings together the extreme ends of the mobile device industry. It is based on a press image depicting the landscape and workers of Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo—an area mined for minerals like tungsten and coltan, essential for mobile device production. The press image has been rephotographed underwater and presented within a freestanding display unit. As water ripples and bubbles distort the scene beneath, the screens of numerous mobile devices display clearer details of the same Katanga mine view. This fusion of the earthy origins of mining and the liquefied luxury of global technology commodities explores the relationship between material extraction and digital information. The work highlights the dual narrative: while mobile devices help disseminate knowledge and raise global awareness with the promise of a better world, the rare earth economy also supports problematic social and political infrastructures in Congo. It reveals the recursive links between matter and information, tracing the path from raw material to data generation.
Exhibition views from: Trails Rising at Sandy Brown Gallery, Berlin; The Composing Rooms, London; and Treijac Project, France.