Machines Don't Die

Synopsis

The work approaches the relation between digital objects and machines in the material dimension. Data is often embodied in advanced digital devices with glistening surface, yet the hardware of the machines becomes ‘junk’ as soon as its functionality fades and eventually gets thrown away. The work traces such material remnants in the processes of handling the electronic waste and recycling value chain, in which the mineral and metal that once belonged to electronic devices are re-absorbed into the reproduction cycle. Such processes of deterioration of digital objects are parallel to the history of resource extraction, and ultimately, geologic time.