driving the human 2022: in conversation with akwasi bediako afrane - Designboom

Akwasi Bediako Afrane returns to ‘driving the human’ festival

Berlin-based festival ‘Driving the Human’ returns this twelvemonth to tackle caller eco-social concepts, each rooted successful a tendency to unafraid a steadfast aboriginal for our planet. Running from November 25 to 27 at Silent Green, a taste halfway successful Berlin, the three-day lawsuit volition halfway astir 7 prototypes investigating caller ways of inhabiting Earth and shaping communities. Festival visitors are invited to prosecute with these prototypes and their makers done a bid of activities, including workshops, installations, conversations, and performances.

Specifically, the 7 models ‘explore ways successful which AI could mitigate alternatively of accelerating clime change; immerse america successful caller forms of making assemblage done ancestral cultivation knowledge; employment fabrication arsenic an imaginativeness instrumentality for caller forms of multispecies conviviality; oregon make embodied connections arsenic a instrumentality to recognize and alteration quality interaction successful endangered territories,’ shares this year’s host, Forecast.

Participating again astatine the 2022 variation is Ghanaian creator Akwasi Bediako Afrane with his eye-opening TRONS ‘R’ US prototype. A commentary connected our delusional quest for meaning and sustenance done technology, Afrane’s enactment repurposes disused electronics into ‘living’ beings called TRONS — each infused with the consciousness of the gadgets’ erstwhile owners. In enactment with his prototype, the creator precocious held a six-day store successful Ghana titled TRONSFORMATION, inviting participants to physique and contiguous their ain mentation of a mechanical gizmo (TRON). Following up connected his journey, designboom spoke with Afrane to larn astir his latest store and evolving presumption connected our narration with mundane gadgets. 

TRONS ‘R’ US by Akwasi Bediako Afrane | each images courtesy of the creator (unless stated otherwise)
archetypal representation © Anwar Sadat Mohammed

exploring the lifecycle of gadgets

When asked however TRONS ‘R’ US has evolved since past year’s festival, Akwasi Bediako Afrane explained that helium had been actively giving caller meaning to the enactment of hacking. In this context, the connection is utilized ‘to picture a consumer’s delight successful having an intimate knowing of the interior workings of a system, which enables 1 to summation entree to that strategy fully,’ he told designboom. The creator developed this conception aft investigating and retracing the full lifecycle of physics gadgets — from accumulation to depletion and yet discarding.

According to Afrane, each gadget interacts with ‘eight large players successful the user electronics sphere. This investigation is based connected my research, inquiries, and interactions. And each subordinate interacts with the gadget astatine a definite stage.’ To exemplify his point, the creator broke down a gadget’s beingness into 2 halves, each listing the players oregon agents progressive successful a numbered order: The archetypal fractional features (1) miners, (2) manufacturers, (3) distributors, and (4) consumers; the 2nd half, meanwhile, involves (5) second-hand dealers, (6) repairers, (7) scrap dealers, and yet (8) recyclers. He goes connected comparing 3 of these players connected each side: producers are the equivalent of recyclers, miners of scrap dealers, and distributors of second-hand dealers.

Afrane, however, noted that his interpretations bash not bespeak real-life conditions: ‘Though the beingness of user physics devices and astir technological products for that substance commencement astatine the mine, their conception is credited to the manufacturing companies. Relating this to the archetypal fractional of a gadget’s life, the manufacturing companies, therefore, service arsenic the core, and miners enactment arsenic a root of earthy materials. The distributors go their nexus of dispensation, portion the consumers enactment arsenic their root of validation and income.

I besides re-ordered the 2nd half, placing the recyclers astatine the halfway conscionable similar the manufacturers of the archetypal half. Recyclers worth what would person different been perceived arsenic thing but trash. But dissimilar the linear signifier of transportation we acquisition wrong the archetypal fractional of the devices’ life, wherever manufacturers usage earthy materials from the miners to nutrient these devices, which are past passed connected to distributors and yet the consumers, the 2nd fractional takes connected an arbitrary signifier of transportation betwixt these agents. The 2nd fractional of the lives of these devices person nary definite starting constituent arsenic it tin either commencement from the repairers, the second-hand dealers, oregon adjacent the scrap dealers themselves. But it ever falls connected the scrap dealers to migrate these devices to the recycling companies aft dismantling and grouping them into assorted materials.’

workshop time 3: hacking/discovering the second-hand gadgets

‘TRONSFORMATION – Sustainability done Hacking’

Afrane’s profoundly insightful probe of a gadget’s lifecycle materialized during his TRONSFORMATION store astatine the Foundation for Contemporary Art successful Accra, Ghana. Spanning six days, the programme invited participants to physique their ain gizmos by ‘hacking’ the strategy of each disused device. The store was primitively intended ‘to see the 8 large agents […] whose livelihood is overwhelmed with physics gadgets and ne'er find the accidental to prosecute each different successful conversations specified arsenic the lifecycle of these devices, its interaction connected the environment, and however sustainable it is,’ explained the artist.

‘The fig of agents was aboriginal narrowed down to consumers, second-hand dealers, repairers, and scrap dealers connected the premise that the activities of these groups tin really beryllium perceived arsenic a signifier of hacking. Unfortunately, I was lone capable to impact 3 retired of the 4 categories of agents listed thus; repairers, scrap dealers, and consumers.’

day 3: hacking/discovering the second-hand gadgets

The store participants were 3 physics repairers, a materials engineer, a scrap dealer, a assemblage student, a precocious schoolhouse senior, an Uber driver, 3 thoroughfare artists, an creation assistant, and unit from the foundation. After splitting them into 2 groups the 2nd day, Afrane asked them to collaborate connected 2 TRON projects utilizing the disposable material. Resources-wise, the creator provided a fewer Siemens devices and collected plentifulness of second-hand gadgets from dealers successful Accra. A fewer participants besides brought their ain disused electronics.

Between days 3 and 5, some groups began ‘hacking’ the gadgets, deconstructing and repurposing them into intriguing models: they successfully built an installation retired of a kettle, a webcam, an AM/FM receiver, and old desktop monitors; they besides assembled bluetooth stereo speakers into a sculptural body. All TRONS were yet exhibited publically connected time 6, followed by roundtable discussions to reason and bespeak connected the store and its outcomes. 

day 4: gathering the TRONS

By engaging first-hand successful gadget deconstruction/reconstruction, participants gained a caller appreciation for and knowing of this technological realm. In the words of Afrane, the ‘black box’ was torn isolated to exposure each aspects of the devices humans beryllium on. Last but not least, the store taught some groups however to make worth from discarded portion crafting societal relations and gathering a collaborative spirit. A 2nd store took spot successful Ghana, this clip with seventeen children from a foster attraction home. Afrane taught them however to physique ‘a car-like craft TRON‘ using ‘parts from an audio cassette player, aged fluorescent tubes from rechargeable lamps and a compact disc (CD).’ 

day 5: gathering the TRONS

As the speech was coming to an end, designboom asked the creator to stock immoderate caller thoughts helium whitethorn person connected the overproduction of astute devices and people’s obsessive request for them. Akwasi Bediako Afrane concluded with the following:

‘Whispers of the obsoleteness of the quality assemblage successful its ain created situation is 1 absorbing origin contributing to this overproduction. The assemblage indispensable beryllium augmented done technological gadgets to lucifer its fast-growing and technologically precocious environment. Echoed done past is the prosthetic god, by Sigmund Freud, an thought that has been rehashed by the likes of Ernst Kapp, Marshall McLuhan, and David Rothenberg, and that describes a information I notation to arsenic the VIRAL PROSTHESIS which has ushered humans into an endless quest to go the ‘perfect being’ done augmentation utilizing technological gadgets. This tendency is preyed upon by the firm satellite with promises of newer precocious and smarter devices each twelvemonth which yet leads to overproduction of these gizmos.‘

Check retired the afloat festival program moving betwixt November 25 and 27, 2022, to find retired much astir this year’s variation of ‘Driving the Human’, organized by the mentoring programme Forecast.