The E-Waste Funeral DUT Edition

The E-waste Funeral DUT Edition is the third installment of an arts-based research project initiated by Dr. Dylan McGarry and the ELRC (Environmental Learning and Research Centre) in collaboration with Dr. Rachel Baasch and the SARChI (South African Research chair in the Arts of Africa) from the Department of Fine Art at the University Currently Known as Rhodes (UCKAR). After successfully tackling the growing e-waste problem at UCKAR and making an appearance in the Converge exhibition at the National Arts Festival, the E-waste Widow has recently arrived on DUT (Durban University of Technology) soil. The broader research concern which considers the question: “Where is Away?” in relation to the increased shipping of E-waste from the Global North (which produces the most e-waste) to the African continent (which produces the least e-waste) has grown exponentially over the last two years. After peering into crowded storerooms filled with rejected, broken, outdated technology, the E-waste widow has recruited a team of students to tackle the problem. This staging of the funeral, with a corresponding exhibition of artworks built out of e-waste by the “E-waste Undertakers” and the “Panel Beating Pallbearers” (Fine Art students) on display in the DUT satellite gallery. These artworks are complemented by Funerary Jewellery courtesy of “Adornment for the Afterlife inc” (Jewellery Design students) with “Décor for the Living Dead” (Interior design students) responsible for installing the “E-waste Graveyard”. This edition of the project considers the ‘life’ and ‘death’ of our technological extensions as we attempt to imagine our post-covid futures. The funeral event will take place on the 18th October 2021 at 12 o’clock on the DUT City Campus in the E-waste Graveyard, followed by the Wake in the Art for Humanity unit.
The exhibition will be open from 18-21 October 2021 and those interested in attending the live event can contact Dr. Rachel Baasch via SMS or Watsapp (0791489138) or email
(RachelB@dut.ac.za) to be added to the list of visitors.