{"id":14608,"date":"2023-01-11T14:32:25","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T19:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/sitegalleries\/?p=14608"},"modified":"2025-12-12T11:28:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T16:28:22","slug":"how-long-after-it-cracks-does-it-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.saic.edu\/sitegalleries\/2023\/01\/11\/how-long-after-it-cracks-does-it-break\/","title":{"rendered":"How long after it cracks does it break"},"content":{"rendered":"

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How long after it cracks does it break<\/em><\/h1>\n

Nick D’Alessandro<\/h3>\n

February 9 – March 9, 2023<\/h4>\n

SITE 280 Gallery<\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Photography by Veronica R\u00f3sas<\/p>\n

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Contributing Artists<\/h3>\n

Nick D’Alessandro<\/p>\n

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Exhibition Statement as Preserved in the SUGS\/SITE Archives:<\/h3>\n
\n

How does it feel when your fingertips touch another\u2019s through the glass of the screen? How does\u00a0your phone’s rectangular aluminum frame fade the pocket of your jeans? What would the rust\u00a0swamp of an electronic waste site look like if left untouched? How long before the screen cracks\u00a0does it break?<\/p>\n

How long before it cracks does it break (2023) is a collection of works that investigates the\u00a0extraction processes necessary for the creation and degradation of the iPhone. Precious metal\u00a0mining and algorithmic data manufacture result in land destruction and lead to digital\u00a0colonialism.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The extraction of technologically critical elements (TECs) consumes immense amounts of\u00a0energy, generating a massive carbon footprint when mined and discarded as waste. Data has\u00a0become the most valuable resource, with experimental algorithmic data collection being tested in\u00a0regions where individuals are unprotected online. Mining, in the context of both digital and\u00a0physical spaces, requires exploitation in order to be profitable. With technological infrastructure\u00a0requiring massive amounts of electricity and data mining using private information in order to\u00a0increase consumption, the digital future is being built on oppression and assumes human\u00a0supremacy over the earth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Waste as a landscape marks the point at which our control over the earth ends and a new contract\u00a0with it begins. The traces of this waste become fossilized into our planet\u2019s geology, and without\u00a0animation by their digital content, these objects become nothing but relics of our impact. This
flattening of objects occurs in the transformation from object to waste, but also is promoted in\u00a0digital spaces. In order for one\u2019s digital self to be easily consumable, the multidimensional self is\u00a0reduced.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Seeking to break down barriers between the body, the computer, and the environment, How long\u00a0before it cracks does it break invites the viewer to reconsider how we value objects and invites a\u00a0deeper consideration of the history and context of natural and manmade objects.\u00a0Considering the body as both the site and the receiver of so many harmful extraction processes,\u00a0the work investigates our connection to the earth through the aluminum rectangle in our pockets and seeks to connect the digital body to the physical components it engages with.\u00a0Hyperconsumption and the waste we produce as a result of global capitalism leaves an impression on our planet and ourselves. Processes of replication, fossilization, and abstraction
are presented in the work to suggest a nuanced cyclical extraction practice within a sustainability\u00a0framework.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Different components of these extractive processes are represented in various parts of the exhibit.\u00a0The wall of an electronic waste mining site, which has degraded into rusted iron, patinated\u00a0copper, and opaque steel, sits beside the minerals which have been extracted<\/p>\n

Copper, aluminum, and iron are suspended in wax molds of broken electronics. iPhones, iPods,\u00a0and headphones sit stacked waiting to be smelted down into the forms that they had existed in\u00a0prior.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The private algorithms of individuals are showcased in public, destroying the false sense of\u00a0privacy that we are promised in using and personalizing our apps. Algorithm-derived TikTok\u00a0screenshots are screen printed against aluminosilicate glass, and superglued to the device which\u00a0has petrified into solid concrete. An iPhone decoy rests plugged in on the floor, acting as the idol\u00a0for the exhibition.<\/p>\n

Desktops of both old and new computer screens are compacted together to suggest the rapid\u00a0acceleration of consumption in the digital age. Shattered concrete slabs are printed with Google\u00a0Earth-rendered landscapes to highlight the digital artifacts through which we experience the\u00a0natural world. Fragments of cracked concrete pieces sit stacked on the floor as cairns, guiding\u00a0the viewer through the space.<\/p>\n

Steel forms are stretched with nylon, printed with AI-generated images of future geology and\u00a0littered with e-waste as an ode to the natural environment, and our digital recreation of it.\u00a0In the center of the room sits an artifact of our time, a fossilized impression of our present. The\u00a0imprint of 72 broken iPhones printed with metals which seep into a concrete slab, mirroring the\u00a0way technology will embed itself in our planet\u2019s geology. Swathed in a hand-mended canvas\u00a0cloth and piled atop rocks, sand, and earth-borne elements, the central fossil reminds us that our\u00a0actions are not singular.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Programs<\/h3>\n

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February 9, 4:30-6:00 PM
280 Gallery<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

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Performance<\/p>\n

March 2, 4:30-5:30 PM<\/span><\/p>\n

Program statement from the SUGs\/SITE archive:<\/span><\/p>\n

“I invite viewers into the gallery space where I am seated on the ground. Above my head sits my phone number. The viewers are invited to text me, where I will be holding a Q&A between myself and the viewers. Using the screen as a method of separation between us, our physical presence will be close to each other, but the distance between us will be felt as a result of the screen. Silence is encouraged but not required. Seeking to extract a conversation into written text, the conversation will exist far beyond the interaction. The conversations I have with others will embed themselves into the iPhone as an object, immortalizing the discussion. The conversations will also be recorded in real time, and displayed on a projected image or a television screen, which will be active both during the performance and after it is complete.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

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Exhibition Material<\/h3>\n

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\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

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