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Posted On: February 18th 2026, 10:33 am
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do you dig it or do you scrap it shown at the Jahresausstellung, AdBK 2025
Ítalo Almeida, Lukas Sterzenbach
Video Installation, 21 minutes
Who — or what — is looked down upon?
And who is looked up to? Seen from above — through the eye of the camera — and from below — through the gaze of the viewer — value is no longer fixed. It is negotiated. Reassembled. Transformed.
These stores emerged in response to the global demand for scrap metal and the city’s urban poverty. They originated through informal and often illegal trading, but the industry
has since become more regulated — largely overseen by the non-profit Metal Recyclers Association of South Africa. It employs thousands across the city, especially migrants, the homeless, youth, and ex-offenders, enabling survival and a way to enter the economy.
They offer an alternative to mining: a form of resource-gathering that neither harms the earth nor exploits its people, but instead connects communities and creates spaces for exchange.
The act of collecting recyclable materials forms a sprawling, informal network across the city, one that is deeply rooted in survival, resilience, and reciprocity.
Here, unwanted objects are brought back into circulation, revalued, and reimagined.
Ítalo Almeida, Lukas Sterzenbach
Video Installation, 21 minutes
Who — or what — is looked down upon?
And who is looked up to? Seen from above — through the eye of the camera — and from below — through the gaze of the viewer — value is no longer fixed. It is negotiated. Reassembled. Transformed.
These stores emerged in response to the global demand for scrap metal and the city’s urban poverty. They originated through informal and often illegal trading, but the industry
has since become more regulated — largely overseen by the non-profit Metal Recyclers Association of South Africa. It employs thousands across the city, especially migrants, the homeless, youth, and ex-offenders, enabling survival and a way to enter the economy.
They offer an alternative to mining: a form of resource-gathering that neither harms the earth nor exploits its people, but instead connects communities and creates spaces for exchange.
The act of collecting recyclable materials forms a sprawling, informal network across the city, one that is deeply rooted in survival, resilience, and reciprocity.
Here, unwanted objects are brought back into circulation, revalued, and reimagined.
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