wastescapes – an audio walk in the trinational border area of Switzerland

Abstract

Conducting the audio walk wastescapes by Flavia Caviezel and Adrian Demleitner (reserach team Times of Waste) at the conference Beyond Change.

Wastescapes looks at processes of cleaning and disposal in the trinational area of Basel/Switzerland, bordering Germany and France. Travel routes are observed for organic or inorganic matter.

The research focuses on local phenomena which are examplary of regional or global entanglements, like the Port area and its recycling services, import/export (CH), BASF lindane cleansing (F), mobile repair shops/re-use (G), invasive animals (common gudgeon) or a temporary use area after deconstruction of oil tanks (CH).

The GPS-based audiowalk is played on smartphones. Using this technology as data carrier, themes such as raw material, waste and recycling are directly thematized. The wide ranging and varied pace of exploration offers a diversity of reception modalities. At best, visitors experience a kind of transformation through participation, merging the role of visitor and (empowered) actant.

wastescapes is a joint project with Times of Waste and emerged from the research and exhibition project RhyCycling which focused on interactions and dependencies of the ‘human’ and ‘non human’ environment. www.rhycycling.ixdm.ch