GEOGRAPHY LESSONS
Liberian Landmarks
1953-2013
‘Geography Lessons: Liberian Landmarks’ responds to two seemingly unconnected sites – ‘landmarks’ – an iron-ore mine in Liberia and Britain’s largest piece of public art. The mine, formerly Mount Nimba, was developed by the Liberia-American-Swedish Mining (LAMCO) Company alongside the 1960s new town of Yekepa. LAMCO exploited these 'vacant' landscapes as part of a larger project to reshape Liberia along Western lines.
When the Yekepa mine was depleted and the 1989 Liberian Civil War began, LAMCO abandoned the town. In 2010, Arcelor Mittal took over with a 25-year mining concession, promising to revitalize Yekepa, but progress stalled due to the Ebola outbreak, offshored profits, and a fluctuating iron-ore market.
Arcelor Mittal also co-commissioned Anish Kapoor’s Orbit for the 2012 London Olympics, a structure built with 60% recycled steel, situated in a park criticized for displacement. The project "Geography Lessons" connects Yekepa's 250-meter-deep mining scar with The Orbit, revealing the unequal exchanges between the Global South and North.
Using photos, soil samples, and landscape models, this project highlights this disparity and draws inspiration from Allan Sekula’s work ‘Geography Lesson: Canadian Notes’. This project was developed within the Site-writing / MA in Architectural History at the Bartlett in 2015 and is a precursor to Uppland.
When the Yekepa mine was depleted and the 1989 Liberian Civil War began, LAMCO abandoned the town. In 2010, Arcelor Mittal took over with a 25-year mining concession, promising to revitalize Yekepa, but progress stalled due to the Ebola outbreak, offshored profits, and a fluctuating iron-ore market.
Arcelor Mittal also co-commissioned Anish Kapoor’s Orbit for the 2012 London Olympics, a structure built with 60% recycled steel, situated in a park criticized for displacement. The project "Geography Lessons" connects Yekepa's 250-meter-deep mining scar with The Orbit, revealing the unequal exchanges between the Global South and North.
Using photos, soil samples, and landscape models, this project highlights this disparity and draws inspiration from Allan Sekula’s work ‘Geography Lesson: Canadian Notes’. This project was developed within the Site-writing / MA in Architectural History at the Bartlett in 2015 and is a precursor to Uppland.
