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Kai Löffelbein: Ctrl-X.

A topography of e-waste
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Ctrl-X. A topography of e-waste by Kai Löffelbein explores the urgent issue of irresponsible electronic waste disposal. The book traces e-waste from Europe and the United States to hazardous recycling sites in Ghana, China, and India, revealing the harsh conditions faced by workers salvaging valuable materials. Löffelbein’s striking photographs highlight the environmental and human cost of our dependence on electronic devices in a digitised world.
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Format: Hardback
$8000
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is ideal for readers interested in global environmental issues, contemporary visual art, and socio-political documentary photography. It appeals to those concerned about sustainable consumption and the hidden impacts of technology.

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Explores the irresponsible handling of limited resources, one of the most pressing problems of our globalized world today. In this book, the author follows the electronic-waste trails from Europe and the United States to the post-apocalyptic scenery of Agbogbloshie in Ghana, the e-waste city of Guiyu in China and more.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Ctrl-X. A topography of e-waste explores the irresponsible handling of limited resources, one of the most pressing problems of our globalised world today. In this book, Kai Löffelbein follows the electronic-waste trails from Europe and the United States to the post-apocalyptic scenery of Agbogbloshie in Ghana, the e-waste city of Guiyu in China, and the backyard workshops of New Delhi. Here, he meticulously documents the appalling conditions under which workers, sometimes even children, attempt to recover any valuable raw materials contained in our e-waste, refuse that is illegally exported from the West in order to bypass expensive recycling.

In an increasingly digitised world, a life without electronic devices seems inconceivable for us: computers, mobile phones, MP3 players, and tablets have become our daily companions. As long as we continue to define ourselves by the products we consume—the latest smartphone, the fastest processor, and the thinnest laptop—the millions of tons of e-waste produced annually will continue to increase.

Kai Löffelbein has a keen eye for the spectacular, but also for significant details. His pictures are superbly composed, of the highest quality, beautiful in the classical sense, and very impressive. They are also analytical and political, never succumbing to the danger of over-aestheticisation. They open our eyes and inspire us.

James Nachtwey

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Löffelbein is praised for his penetrating insight and ability to present e-waste recycling sites as vividly as speculative fiction. His work offers intense, intimate portraits of a bleak reality, capturing the dangerous and often overlooked consequences of modern consumer culture. Wired commends the depiction of these e-waste graveyards as 'hellish'.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9783869309705

Publisher: Steidl Publishers

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 21 June 2018

Country: Germany

Imprint: Steidl Verlag

Illustration: 117 Illustrations, color

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 297.0mm

Height: 250.0mm

Weight: 1380g

Pages: 192

About the Author

Kai Löffelbein was born in Germany in 1981 and studied documentary photography in Hanover. He has since worked in South America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, devoting himself to long-term projects that capture the impacts on common people and the environment left by socio-political and economic phenomena. Löffelbein has exhibited internationally and his awards include the Henri Nannen Prize, the UNICEF Photo of the Year Award, The New York Photo Award, the DAYS JAPAN International Photojournalism Award, the FotoVisura Photography Grant and the Px3 Prix de la Photographie. He is one of the Critical Mass Top 50 Selected Artists and recently received a grant from the Magnum Foundation.

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