Gallery
foto: Przemysław Walczak
Video Gallery
warning! please note that those videos are quite heavy comparing with other visual content available here in this Digital Sanctuary, please stream responsibly!
Directing: Paulina Zommer
Camera and editing: Przemysław Walczak
Experiment overview
A collaborative initiative with the National Ethnographic Museum in Poland and House of European History that expanded their “Throwaway” waste management exhibition by introducing a chapter on digital waste.
The project transformed discarded technology into powerful storytelling artifacts that revealed Europe’s technological evolution through its abandoned devices and obsolete digital systems.
Main objectives
The project approached digital waste documentation through:
Narrative development: crafting a compelling story that positioned digital waste as cultural artifacts reflecting societal values and technological acceleration, for which I have wrote the script
Visual documentation: creating video materials that transformed forgotten computers, obsolete smartphones, and discarded storage devices into historical witnesses
Locations scouting: collaborating with the National Ethnographic Museum in Poland to identify authentic locations and artifacts that effectively illustrated Europe’s digital consumption patterns
Achieved results
The initiative successfully produced a two-part video exhibition installed at the House of European History in Brussels.
The materials presented Europe’s technological journey through the lens of its digital discards, creating a unique historical perspective that complemented traditional narratives of progress.
Main reflection
This exploration revealed that our digital waste forms a powerful archaeological record of technological acceleration and changing social priorities.
By examining what society discards rather than what it preserves, the project uncovered insights about consumption patterns, planned obsolescence, and the environmental consequences of digital progress.