Li-ion is a series of photo-realistic drawings and ceramic sculptures inspired by three global lithium ponds impacted by technology located in the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, Silver Peak in Nevada, and the Mojave Desert. I tracked each site with earth imaging satellites. I then rendered photo-realistic drawings from these images to make private images publicly accessible. In the act of drawing, I raised questions on current ways of seeing landscape through contemporary mapping technologies. I dug clay, a natural companion of lithium, at the Nevada site, and molded it over lithium salt rocks to create abstract sculptures.

These ponds are extractive zones, in conflict with national parks, clean water, and indigenous traditions. Lithium is in increasing demand from major corporations to produce lithium-ion batteries found in smart technologies. My research, drawings, sculptures, and artist books are motivated by studying the industrial history of each zone and satellite imagery as a technology for power. Clay served as trace evidence of the land’s extractive legacy. Each kiln firing yielded different results due to unknown chemical makeup of the clay from a legacy of mining.  

A deep look into earth and sky, I tell the story of past, present, and future. Silver Peak’s clay reveals a history of greed in its centuries old search for mineral riches; the Mojave (a new site in the exploratory phase of extraction) is the current moment of exploitation. Satellite images, used to view and map land are present and future tools of colonization in the Americas while simultaneously expanding understanding of the complex earth systems at play with climate change.