Shrouded in a thick cloud of smoke, a man pokes at a fire with a thin stick.

23rd March 2023 – end of September 2024

A Downside of Digitalisation

Photographs by Kai Löffelbein

With powerful images, the photographer Kai Löffelbein throws a light on the disposal of electronic waste. The photographs show how people in China, Ghana and India dismantle electronic devices to extract raw materials. These dangerous and harmful methods bypass expensive recycling processes.

Electronic waste can cause enormous ecological damage. It can also destroy the livelihood and health of the people involved.

Kai Löffelbein studied political science and later documentary photography. The photographs presented in the exhibition were taken as part of the project: "Ctrl-X, a topography of e-waste".

Kai Löffelbein has been awarded the Henri Nannen Prize, the Magnum Foundation Fund and the UNICEF Photo of the Year Award, among others.

Insights
In a cellar room there are numerous dismantled screen tubes, two men seem to be working on them.
Three women sit with their backs to the viewer in front of a large pile of computer casings.
A large plastic bag stands in front of a field and is filled with plastic waste, including individual parts of gaming controllers.
Rubbish, including what appears to be the remains of a monitor, lies on a floor of earth and grass.
In front of parked cars is a large pile of screen tubes, in the background are houses.
Poster for the exhibition "A Downside of Digitalisation"
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