Tantalum Memorial



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		Tantalum Memorial “Tantalum Memorial – Reconstruction” a new artwork by Harwood, Wright, Yokokoji 01SJ Biennial: “Superlight” at the San Jose Museum of Art May 10th - August 31st, 2008 “Tantalum Memorial – Reconstruction” is the first in a series of telephony-based memorials by the artists group Harwood, Wright, Yokokoji, to the people who have died as a result of the “coltan wars” in the Congo. The installation is constructed out of electromagnetic Strowger switches – the basis of the first automatic telephone exchange invented in 1888. The movements and sounds of the switches are triggered by the phone calls of London's Congolese community as they participate in “Telephone Trottoire” – a concurrent project also built by the artists in collaboration with the Congolese radio program “Nostalgie Ya Mboka”. Since August 1998 there have been 3.9 million deaths in the “coltan wars” and there are currently over 35,000 Congolese refugees in the UK alone. Coltan ore is mined for the metal tantalum - an essential component of mobile phones and other communication devices that is now coveted by dozens of international mining companies and warring local militias. “Telephone Trottoire” is a “social telephony” network that calls Congolese listeners, plays them a phone message and invites them to record a comment and pass it on to a friend by entering their telephone number. This builds on the traditional Congolese practice of “radio trottoire” or “pavement radio”, the passing around of news and gossip on street corners in order to avoid state censorship. “Tantalum Memorial – Residue” (courtesy Manifesta7) will be the second in the series, this time utilizing a 1938 telephone exchange rescued from the old Alumix factory in Bolzano, Italy. This is also the site of Manifesta 7 - the European Biennial of Contemporary Art, 19th July to 2nd November, 2008. “Tantalum Memorial – Reconstruction” will next be shown at The Science Museum in London UK in October 2008. This version will be triggered by the phone calls of a new telephony project created during workshops that will bring together young people from a Greenwich school with Congolese asylum seekers. The installation will then travel to Chalkwell Hall in Southend-on-Sea, Essex where it will launch the new centre for international arts organization Metal. “Tantalum Memorial – Reconstruction” May 10 - August 31, 2008 is A FUSE Commissioned Residency for the 2nd Biennial 01SJ Global Festival of Art on the Edge, ZERO1, CADRE Laboratory and the Lucas Artists Program, Montalvo Arts Center. The artists Harwood, Richard Wright and Matsuko Yokokoji have worked together since 2004, firstly as “Mongrel” - an internationally recognized artists collective. Previous projects include the first online commission from the Tate Gallery, London, a BAFTA award nomination and work in the permanent collections of the Pompidou Centre Paris and the Centre for Media Arts in Karlsruhe (ZKM). Timeline Telephone Trottoire: London - May 5th to July 2008 Tantalum Memorial (Reconstruction): Zer01 Festival in San Jose, USA - January 2008 to September 2008 (Festival June 4th to June 8th) Tantalum Memorial (Residue): Manifesta 7 in Bolzano, Italy - July 19th to November 2nd 2008 Tantalum Memorial (Reconstruction): Science Museum, London - October 2008 Tantalum Trottoire: Young People’s Workshop - Southend - January 2009 Tantalum Memorial (Reconstruction): Chalkwell Hall, Southend - January 2009 The Tantalum Project: Publication - January 2009 The Tantalum Connection: Conversations & Dinner Event - Chalkwell Hall, Southend - January 2009 The Installations Tantalum Memorial (Reconstruction) @ San Jose Museum of Modern Art, USA Tantalum Memorial (Residue) @ Manifesta7, Italy Tantalum Memorial (Reconstruction) @ London Science Musuem, UK Tantalum Memorial (Reconstruction) @ Chalkwell Hall, Southend-on-Sea, UK