"eye to eye" is centered around the genocide actively occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the pursuit of the mineral cobalt. Cobalt is an essential component to almost every lithium-ion battery which powers almost every smartphone, tablet, laptop along with a vast majority of electric vehicles. In this way, the bloodshed of the Congo is a critical component to satisfying modern and future demand.

 

"eye to eye" and the associated body of work highlights the gross discrepancy between the seemingly post-apocalyptic mining conditions and the shiny devices at the end of the line. As part of my practice, this work investigates the quasi-temporal and the semi-physical attributes of technology and examines how these qualities affect my body, community, and, on a larger scale, massive global supply chains.
 

"eye to eye" showcases six conversational chatbots, each taking on the various personas that represent players in the cobalt global supply chain. These personas, presented as abstracted figural forms, will be placed into conversation with each other in a virtual “think tank” and tasked with coming to collective solutions for complex and transcontinental problems regarding cobalt mining.