Hardware 

6´45´´

Berlin, 2024

(Stop motion animation, found footage, video recording)

Lithium is the backbone of modern technology, powering smartphones, electric vehicles, military equipment and digital surveillance. Its widespread use fuels both entertainment and conflict, from social media addiction to live-streamed wars. Despite its reputation as a key player in the shift to renewable energy, lithium extraction is deeply tied to environmental destruction and resource exploitation, particularly in regions like Chile’s Atacama Desert, where water-intensive mining threatens local communities and ecosystems.

Lithium extraction remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels at every stage, from mining and processing to transportation and manufacturing. The machinery used to extract and refine lithium, as well as the infrastructure needed to transport it globally, relies on diesel and coal-powered energy.  The concept of Petro-masculinity, as described by Cara Daggett, links fossil fuel dependence to patriarchal power, nationalism, and authoritarianism. It frames oil and coal as symbols of strength and control, fueling climate denial and reactionary politics in response to shifting energy systems.