E-Waste is Art

The rapid growth of Technology with Electronic Devices throughout the years has also increased the production of E-waste globally. E-waste is exported to other countries, burned and dumped into landfills; this does not solve the problem but can affect our environment and health. However, some innovative and creative Artists create E-waste arts.

E-waste art is art created from recycled electronic devices that are no longer used. These artists' goal is to raise awareness on E-wastes and their harmful effects on our lives. By recycling and alerting people through their art, they can initiate people to recycle their electronic waste.

As artist and photographer Benjamin Wong said, “All we needed was to convince more people to recycle, so we decided to build something that people would hopefully want to talk about.” E-waste art is not only art pieces for display, but it can impact people to recycle their waste and turn it into something beautiful. These are some artists and their e-waste around the world:

Benjamin Von Wong

In 2017, Von Wong found out that Dell had the world’s largest global recycling program. He got creative because he realized that e-waste is a problem and wanted to challenge people to recycle e-waste through his artworks and photography. Throughout their artwork project, they were given 4100 lbs of e-waste (the approximate amount of e-waste an American might use over a lifetime). It took them ten (10) days of hard work to finish the project. Von Wong and his team are hoping that they can empower individuals to Rethink e-waste, Recycle them responsibly, and revive these electronic wastes. 

Peter McFarlane 

McFarlane creates landscapes and fossils out of circuit boards. He said that “To me, waste is just a lack of imagination. This belief carries beyond the boundaries of my art production and permeates most aspects of my life.”  In which, he wanted his art to challenge the audience's perception by using recycled materials to unsettle their view on e-waste.

Mary Hanson

Hanson makes jewelry out of e-waste. She showcases which metal's from unused electronic devices in making their products.

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These artists had done their part in our society by raising awareness on e-waste and educating individuals to recycle e-waste. It's our part now, let us rethink, recycle and revive e-waste!

References:

4100 Lbs of E-Waste resurrected. trillions to go. Von Wong Blog. (2019, July 13). https://blog.vonwong.com/dell/. 

Bringing awareness to the hazards of e-waste with e-waste art. Great Lakes Electronics. (2019, May 8). https://www.ewaste1.com/e-waste-art/.

Circuit board. Home. (n.d.). https://www.petermcfarlane.com/artwork/circuit-board. 

E-waste as art - BetterWorldSolutions - The Netherlands. BetterWorldSolutions. (2015, April 10). https://www.betterworldsolutions.eu/e-waste-as-art/.