Energy Slave Tokens
When architect and futurist Buckminster Fuller coined the term ‘energy slaves’, he equated the energy generated by fossil fuels to that of human physical labour.
How many energy slaves would you be a master of when you use fossil fuels to power your everyday life? Energy Slave Tokens, crafted from bitumen, a semi-solid form of petroleum—represented specific durations of human labour (an hour, a day, a year, a lifetime). In doing so, the research collective Disnovation.org highlighted the stark contrast between human labour and the fossil fuel-driven energy that powers our modern lifestyle.
Medium: 3D printed weights, Poster
Year: 2020
Team
DISNOVATION.ORG
Research Collective
Established in Paris in 2012, DISNOVATION.ORG is a research collective led by core members Maria Roszkowska, Nicolas Maigret, and Baruch Gottlieb. Bridging contemporary art, research, and hacking, they collaborate with a diverse array of professionals in academia, activism, engineering, and design. Their recent artistic endeavours challenge prevailing beliefs in the efficacy of 'economic growth' and 'technological fixes' to resolve the ecological disruptions they themselves have caused.
Co-editors of A Bestiary of the Anthropocene and The Pirate Book with Nicolas Nova, DISNOVATION.ORG's global presence includes exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou, and the Museum of Art and Design. Their work, exploring Post Growth imaginaries, has garnered international acclaim and media coverage in outlets such as Forbes, Vice, Wired, and more.
