Lithium Unearthed

Lithium has become a symbol of hope for escaping the climate crisis we are currently facing. In a world grappling with existential threats and ethical dilemmas, this project will examine the material, cultural and spatial aspects of Lithium extraction and the role of art to make tangible these complex scenarios.

This presentation is from the first “Planetary Transitions: Potsdam Artist Residency”, the Global Extraction Observatory (GEO) from Australia. They will be discussing their distinctive creative practice in art and architecture, and sharing their approach to working across performance, architectural drawing and modelling, and archival research.

The talk will be presented live and online, taking place on 15 April 2025 from 14.00-15.30 CET. The live part will be at the RIFS, located at Berliner Straße 130, 14467 Potsdam. The online part will be via Zoom. We kindly ask you to register:

If you want to join live, please register here.

If you want to join online, please register here.

GEO is a research collective examining the effects of energy production and resource extraction through creative practice, scholarship and public engagement. Led by Dr Sam Spurr and Dr Eduardo Kairuz, GEO positions architecture in an expanded field incorporating diverse methods, narratives and perspectives. This position affords new creative approaches to producing new knowledge and amplifying visual culture.

The "Planetary Transitions: Potsdam Artist Residency" is a joint initiative by the DAAD Artist-in-Residence Programme, Potsdam, and the RIFS. It invites particular international artists, who wish to develop work that explores the intersection between art and sustainability during a fellowship in Potsdam, Germany. It encourages the participation of artists with critical voices and perspectives that are absent in German and Western European discussions on sustainability and sustainable development.