Rare Earth project

Suzanne Treister is a pioneer of digital and new media art whose rigorous research focuses on untangling the relationships between emerging technologies, society, and politics, while advocating for alternative models of thought that reshape the structures that bind power, science, and knowledge. The Rare Earth Project is a compelling exploration of the extractivist pressures and geopolitical complexities surrounding the mining and securing of rare-earth elements (RREs), particularly in regions with colonial histories. By delving deep into the web of industrial, medical, military, and civic applications that these elements underpin, from powering smartphones and serving the military-industrial complex to driving the not-so-“green” technologies of the future, Treister sheds light on how and why RREs have become indispensable “strategic resources.”

Drawing inspiration from medieval celestial charts and psychedelic aesthetics, Treister’s ultramarine blue mural represents a rare-earth mandala, mapping out a wealth of research about these valuable elements. It features portraits of the scientists who discovered each of the seventeen elements alongside explanations of their taxonomy and common uses. Star-shaped callouts indicate critical extraction sites around the globe, while rock-shaped text blocks provide insights into military and civic applications of these elements. Moreover, four multi-spiked stars illuminate the philosophical extensions of RRE-based technologies in transgressive schools of thought labeled as “technogaianism,” “technoextinction,” “transhumanism,” and “the interplanetary internet.” These concepts envision a new mythical global sphere that brings together the technical and the magical in distinct ways.

Treister’s diagram serves as both a pedagogical tool for tracing complex scientific and cultural narratives and a platform for exploring philosophical, literary, and political responses to advances in technology, including the development of new cosmological and alternative belief systems. Ultimately, her goal is to equip viewers with a layered understanding of the exponentially evolving technological landscape and offer them tools and concepts for navigating the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

(Text written by TBA21 and used as wall label in the exhibition "The Ecologies of Peace", C3A, Córdoba, 2024)