Po B.K. Lomami Explores the Human Cost of Digital Technology
The artist-researcher investigates ecological and social impacts of mining through contemporary digital art installations.
1Artistic Residency at MAC
The Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art is currently hosting six emerging artists in its temporary Place Ville Marie space. Among them, Po B.K. Lomami transforms her studio into a space resembling an electronics repair shop. She deconstructs computers and phones to reveal the hidden physical components behind our modern digital existence.
2Unveiling Extractive Realities
Lomami focuses on the raw materials like nickel, coltan, lithium, and cobalt that power our devices. She highlights the disconnect between consumers and the global mining sites where these minerals originate. By exposing the internal hardware of iMacs to students, she forces a confrontation with the material reality of technology.
3Violence and Mining Conflicts
The artist draws a direct line between mineral extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo and ongoing armed conflicts. Her work incorporates interactive sound boxes that play testimonies from children affected by these regional instabilities. She emphasizes that the human cost of these technologies remains largely invisible to the average user.
4Quantifying Human Loss
In her digital piece Nothing 02, Lomami addresses the millions of lives lost in the Congo since 1998. The installation randomly recites numbers between one and ten million, symbolizing the lack of official victim registries. She notes that listening to the full range of these estimates would require seventeen years of continuous attention.
5Intersection of Identity and Disability
Beyond ecological themes, Lomami explores her own vulnerability as a Black woman with a physical disability. Born with partial paralysis, she investigates the fear of police violence, particularly when physical compliance is impossible. Her performances often use urban architecture to simulate the pain and danger of forced physical movements in public.
6Critique of Green Transition
Lomami questions whether the shift toward green energy is truly sustainable or merely shifts the burden of exploitation. She uses a stationary bicycle in her studio to symbolize the paradox of technological evolution. She argues that while we move away from fossil fuels, the demand for mining continues to rise significantly.
7Academic and Research Context
As a lecturer at Concordia University, Lomami participates in the Volt-Age program, which unites 174 researchers on Canadian electrification. Her specific mandate involves exploring the cultural and social dimensions of a just energy transition. She bridges the gap between rigorous academic research and provocative artistic intervention to challenge institutional narratives.
8Future Artistic Trajectory
With the proliferation of battery plants, wind farms, and data centers in Quebec, Lomami finds ample material for her ongoing practice. Her work continues to evolve from public performance art to complex, data-driven digital installations. She remains committed to making the invisible human and ecological costs of our digital world visible.
Original article: Le Devoir — Po B.K. Lomami Explores the Human Cost of Digital Technology