Edgelands

Edgelands investigates the increasing tension between the natural world and the infiltration of electronic waste, the fastest growing waste stream on the planet. The exhibition takes its title from a term coined by writer Marion Shoard describing the liminal space at the periphery of urban environments. Hanahan’s images hypothesize that these spaces, abandoned by industry and reclaimed by nature, as the future home of discarded technology.

Hanahan creates digital renditions of these possible futures by using a range of machine learning algorithms to ‘breed’ images of midwestern landscapes—primarily those of photographer and project collaborator Jennifer Colten (St. Louis, MO)—interleaved with assorted images of illegal e-waste dumpsites in Africa, Asia, and India, where almost all e-waste is deposited. The resulting videos and large format digital prints are extracted from this algorithmic breeding process. His landscapes propose a world where the quantity of discarded electronics creeps into the periphery of everyday life, occupying the spaces abandoned by previous industries. The images postulate how this future might look should we continue on our current trajectory.

Edgelands highlight two themes common to both the landscapes and dumpsites; horizons and mounds. The images are simultaneously familiar and foreign, present and future. An augmented reality (AR) application reveals digital detritus in each landscape, determined by an object detection algorithm trained to identify commonly discarded digital products (CPUs, smartphones, keyboards, charging cables, etc.) Pivoting between the digital and physical is a key component of Hanahan’s work. Particularly in Edgelands—and like the Edgelands themselves—it encourages audiences to formulate their own histories and narratives of these landscapes and rethink their relationships to technology, devices, and the lifespan of products.

This AR application accompanies a series of large-format AI-generated images by the artist and designer, Jonathan Hanahan. Currently, these works are being displayed at the Texas State Galleries in San Marcos, TX.

Scan images in person or at https://hanahan.works/Edgelands/online.html

Jonathan Hanahan lives and works in St Louis, Missouri. He uses technology to critique technology. His speculative practice explores the physical, cultural, and social ramifications of digital experiences and the role technology plays in shaping our everyday realities. Hanahan earned a BArch from Virginia Tech and an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. In addition to his studio practice, he is an associate professor in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.