Earthing Discharge (#7-10)

Marjolijn Dijkman, Earthing Discharge #8, 2021 (coal) Fujiflex print 110 x 100 cm.

Earthing Discharge (#7-10) is a series of four photos depicting items associated with technology and energy use —minerals, circuit boards, and personal devices. Dijkman’s labor-intensive process involves activating the conductive matter using high-voltage electricity and photographing them through conductive glass used in touchscreen technologies.

The resulting blue and purple halos and irregular linear rays, a phenomenon known as corona discharge, are caused by the ionization and electrical disturbance of adjacent air. The photographs make visible electric currents that we rarely see, calling attention to the systems of extraction that support most of the world’s modern energy, communication, and mobile computing technologies.