@ScotiabankCONTACT Photography Festival - Pieter Hugo - Permanent Error

Have you ever wondered what happens to your old computers and electronics after they are no longer needed or "obsolete"? To be honest, I haven't.  

More over, have you ever questioned whether there are negative consequences for North America's seemingly insatiable appetite for the latest and greatest smart phones, laptops and mobile devices? Nope, neither have I.

This week I visited the public exhibit titled "Permanent Error" by Pieter Hugo.  

In all honesty, I had been walking past this exhibit daily, not knowing its meaning or significance.  This public display of images is actually located on a set of Billboards at Front and Spadina (Toronto) - I had been walking by daily, wondering why such unique photographs were posted on billboards (and in one of the most prime locations in the city, no less) with no description, caption or explanation. Then one day I decided to explore - and here is what I found.

"The United Nations has stated that Western countries produce around 50 million tons of digital waste annually, and here the shocking consequences are exposed. This installation brings awareness to consumer culture and how the West has normalized its wasteful behaviours. Much of this debris is shipped over to developing countries, with the false promise that it will improve their economy. Many of the inhabitants in this wasteland survive by burning electronic components to extract copper and other precious metals, left with little choice but to create toxic firepits of melting plastic and black smoke. As a result, the surrounding landscape and rivers are contaminated with lead, cyanide, and mercury"

"Marshall McLuhan theorized about the effects of technology and how its pervasiveness leads to new cycles of obsolescence and retrieval. He questioned what happens when a medium is pushed to its extreme. Hugo’s work reveals the dark underside of a culture that values “progress” above all else. This bleak graveyard of outdated electronic artifacts foreshadows an apocalyptic era, while harkening back to romanticized pastoral landscapes. These photographs are a stark reminder of the fragility of existence, not only of people and place, but of information and technology."

South American photographer Pieter Hugo decided to bring awareness to the effects of North America's wasteful habits on the other side of the globe and how one continent's innovative pursuits is at the expense of another continent's safety and environment.

Makes you think doesn't it??? Will you think twice before you rush to buy the latest smart phone or laptop? Whether you do or don't, at least now you know that someone else is being affected by your decision.

For ideas on how you can "Outsmart Waste" and re-use items that you would otherwise discard please visit http://www.terracycle.net/