Martin Kolev

The Zone of Disassembly - Unveiling the hidden flows of e-waste

Material possession has become the main objective of existence. The high dynamics of global flows dominate the planetary web of connectivity. Consumption, production, and assembly have become the holy trinity of the neo-liberal realm by neglecting distances, identity and time, yet celebrating purpose, capital, and proliferation. Meanwhile, the consequences of these actions remain well concealed.

The project responds to this imbalance and aims to track, unveil and transform one of the tangible outcomes of consumption: e-waste. ‘The Zone of Disassembly’ presents a critique of the current policies regarding e-waste: incompetent formulation of recycling practices and lack of contemporary, adequate methodology, resulting in conscious exclusion of these hidden ‘ore-streams’. The project derives from the question of territory and formulates a spatial intervention which has the potential to unveil the hidden e-flows in the North Sea. It is articulated via two interconnected spatial agencies, which establish an infrastructural threshold: the waste archipelago and the waste plant.

More information

• Master thesis 'The Zone of Disassembly'