Man's Eternal Metal
Man's Eternal Metal
An informative piece on electronic waste, recycling and copper as a pillar of the circular economy.
Year
2018
Client
Final Major Project, AUB
Project Type
Infographic / Product Design / Exhibit
Role
Designer, Maker, Researcher
Project Overview
A world without the most versatile metal.
Copper has been used for over 10,000 years and more than 50% of the copper ever extracted from the earth has been unearthed in the last 28 years. Used in a variety of industries from healthcare to engineering, I decided to focus my final major project on its effect within electronic waste and recycling. 44.7 million metric tonnes of e-waste were generated in 2016. 20% was documented, collected and recycled, whereas 80% was not documented and was most commonly sent to landfill or incinerated.
The Brief
To explore the issues surrounding e-waste recycling and understand how it affects each of us in our day-to-day lives.
The Solution
A physical art piece portraying a world map as an infographic. The data represents the average amount of e-waste produced per person in each country.
Research
Among a variety of primary and secondary research, a highlight was my tour of the recycling facility in Bournemouth.
Deconstructing Electronics
Further research led me to visit local scrapyards to gather copper items to deconstruct and examine.
Wi-fi Routers with Purpose
Through my research I found a niche within the network industry that led me to better utilise our electronics to have a beneficial impact on the environment.
Final Major Project — Version One
Looking at the effect electronic waste has on our world became fascinating and led me to portray my findings in a visually intriguing way.
Final Art Piece
Man's Eternal Metal
Combining three months of research and experimentation led me to create an art piece representing the amount of e-waste per person, per country. Line thickness represents the amount of e-waste, while the visual language came from deconstructing circuit boards and electronics. Plaques beneath the piece reveal factual information about how copper affects our day-to-day lives.
The Process
Creating Man's Eternal Metal
From initial research to final product, this process was extremely rewarding and allowed me to display a variety of skills. I learnt a great deal during the creation of the final piece, so felt it useful to document it here.
Building the final piece
Infographic Design
After analysing hundreds of recycling statistics, I compiled and visualised the information into an infographic using circuitry as its visual language.
The Material
Hand cutting 24 plaques of locally sourced copper, sanding and polishing each piece to ensure a clean finish.
The Design
Using a vinyl cutter to etch the entire design into black vinyl, meticulously removing each section line by line to reveal the final look.
Vinyl onto copper
Precisely layering each of the 24 vinyl squares onto the copper, ensuring there were no bubbles, missing sections or imperfections.
Displaying the piece
Given an entire wall in the exhibition space, I planned the location and installed the design alongside a plaque and supporting information.
