Lixiviado
2023
Departing from a ‘waste liquor’ called ‘leachate’ (lixiviado) - a term used to describe any liquid that extracts soluble components as it passes through matter - Vibeke imagines the hardly traceable, nevertheless profoundly present memories that seep into electric currents.
‘El Basurero’, the biggest waste site in Zone 3 of Guatemala City, may at first glance appear to be the final resting place for many discarded items, but is in fact a place of livelihood and generation for numerous people (and other beings) who daily sift the waste piles in the hope to find useful substances. Recently a more technologically sophisticated practice of generation has been implemented on the waste site: that of methane processing into electricity. For Lixiviado this energy was harnessed to make a micro grid within the gallery space of Proyectos Ultravioleta. Stored within used car batteries (those of the emblematic yellow waste trucks which can be seen moving throughout the city of Guatemala) this ‘waste energy’ powers the exhibition’s light throughout the duration of the show. Simultaneously, a series of new batteries that were offered in exchange, power the waste trucks as they drive to and from the Basurero for the years to come.
2023
Departing from a ‘waste liquor’ called ‘leachate’ (lixiviado) - a term used to describe any liquid that extracts soluble components as it passes through matter - Vibeke imagines the hardly traceable, nevertheless profoundly present memories that seep into electric currents.
‘El Basurero’, the biggest waste site in Zone 3 of Guatemala City, may at first glance appear to be the final resting place for many discarded items, but is in fact a place of livelihood and generation for numerous people (and other beings) who daily sift the waste piles in the hope to find useful substances. Recently a more technologically sophisticated practice of generation has been implemented on the waste site: that of methane processing into electricity. For Lixiviado this energy was harnessed to make a micro grid within the gallery space of Proyectos Ultravioleta. Stored within used car batteries (those of the emblematic yellow waste trucks which can be seen moving throughout the city of Guatemala) this ‘waste energy’ powers the exhibition’s light throughout the duration of the show. Simultaneously, a series of new batteries that were offered in exchange, power the waste trucks as they drive to and from the Basurero for the years to come.
Electricity from waste, repurposed car battery, dimmer, battery clamps, cable, artificial Monstera leaves, LED light, custom made iron mount, velcro strip
Special thanks to InBio (Juan Mini, Jorge Juan Samayoa), the waste truck drivers, Jorge de León, Proyectos Ultravioleta.
Special thanks to InBio (Juan Mini, Jorge Juan Samayoa), the waste truck drivers, Jorge de León, Proyectos Ultravioleta.
