14 DAY TRIAL // Contemporary Art represents a continued source of surprises, especially when it reflects the creativity of environmentally-friendly artists, who put old above new by transforming recycled materials into amazing one-of-a-kind masterpieces.
This time, some of them decided to tackle e-waste, a frequent important component, part of our daily life.
Instead of sending those unnecessary pieces to landfills, Jeremy Mayer wants to empower them with new meanings, sending a strong message. Everything can be reused, as nothing has to be wasted.
He created the awesome, yet creepy looking typewriter, a genuine statement, suggesting that fine art does not depend on the quality of the materials used in the manufacturing process, as it relies mostly on skills, creativity, and in this case, strong noticeable eco-friendly values. He also powers a series of robots and several other futuristic-looking creatures.
A similar strategy brought Mona Lisa back to life. An overall green lady, with the same mysterious smile and structure, but this time entirely made out of no-longer-needed motherboards.
Other creative artists use the same components to redesign the exterior of their car. Recycled e-waste offers countless possibilities of improving what we use and how we currently live our lives.
Even wealthy nations experience difficulties in recycling and disposing of e-waste, because such operations pose significant risk to workers and local communities.
Those who deal with e-waste on a daily basis must draw up and respect a few measures of precaution, avoiding unsafe exposure to heavy metals often discarded in landfills and incinerator ashes.
Despite the fact that several organizations warned that the impact of e-waste upon people's health has been exaggerated throughout time, EPA officials still affirm that companies should take care of such materials with caution.
At this point in time, it appears that 215,000 tons of electronics have been shipped to Ghana, known as the global e-waste pit of developed countries, only in 2011, according to a report entitled Ghana E-Waste Country Assessment.
It looks like that we are unable to minimize our ecological footprint, as only America is responsible for tossing 3 million tons of e-waste each year.
Artists do not fear contamination and it seems they would do almost anything in their power to keep landfills clean and their pockets filled, since environmentally-friendly art becomes more and more popular.
