Esker / lithium, body of works, 2019 – ongoing.
These works address the exploitation of lithium in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (Québec, Canada), a substance for which the transportation electrification and mobile devices have increased demand. One of the main focuses of Esker / lithium is on the Authier project prospecting site in La Motte and the environmental concerns raised by claims for an open-pit spodumene mine. The mine would disrupt the site’s natural ecosystem and could threaten the Saint-Mathieu-Berry esker, known for the purity of its natural spring water. I also turned my attention to the intermittent activities of the North American Lithium mine in La Corne as well as other projects aimed at extracting lithium in Quebec, such as the Tansim project located on the ancestral territory of the community of Long Point First Nation in Winneway. Consisting of installations, photographies, videos, aerial imagery, 3D scans, binaural field recordings and digital devices, the pieces of this body of works explore the paradoxes of the energy transition, the materiality of digital technology, as well as the impacts of the exploitation of natural resources on the fauna, flora, water and communities.
