TRONS `R` US

The GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig, an institution of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD), presents the multimedia installation "TRONS 'R' US" in collaboration with the Netzwerk Medien Kunst and DresdencontemporaryArt e.V.. In this project, Ghanaian artist Akwasi Bediako Afrane explores the relationship between people, technology and our environment.

Every day, Ghana receives shipments of containers brimming with used electronic devices – discarded affluence from the Global North. The acquisition of the latest smartphone, television, or tablet brings prestige.  Simultaneously, each individual establishes a personal bond with these devices: A substantial part of our lives is stored on their memory media in the form of photos, videos, and texts, while they also serve as our connection to the world. Consequently, they become extensions of our consciousness and improve us.

In TRONS 'R' US, Akwasi Bediako Afrane works with these discarded but functional electronic devices to explore the relationship between people, technology, and our environment. He utilizes the devices linked to people, playing with them and their former owners who are still connected to these devices but now also connect with the artist. From this, he creates machines and microorganisms that he calls "TRONS", sending them back to the Global North as works of art. 

Akwasi Bediako Afrane, artist:

"Electronic devices can be compared to beings. Humans enter into relationships with them in a prosthetic way. What if this process is reversible and produces machines that develop into organisms with humans as prostheses? My role as an artist serves as a prosthesis for these devices, and through this they can manifest in new forms as I manipulate and hack these devices through desoldering, soldering and coding. Through the artistic adventure with technology, I utilise the available media platforms for the production and consumption of my works. I believe in the idea of interactivity and reaching audiences around the world through various available platforms (both physical and virtual). After my works are created physically, I also translate them into digital models to experiment with VR, AR, video, 3D animation and gaming technologies."

As an accompanying programme, a workshop with the artist will take place during the summer holidays from 2 to 5 July 2024. Together with Akwasi Bediako Afrane, children aged 8 and over will build their own "TRONS" from "electronic waste". Stadtreinigung Leipzig supports this project. Participation is possible daily (€4) or can be booked for the entire time (€15). Registration at: Muspaed-ses(at)skd.museum