Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

2014

  • Work on this object began.

2015

  • Work on this object ended.

2022

2024

  • You found it!

Project, Rare Earthenware, 2014-2015

This is a Project. It was designed by Unknown Fields and collaborator: London Sculpture Workshop, Toby Smith and Christina Varvia. It is dated 2014-2015. It is a part of the department.


Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China

Rare Earthenware makes visible a critical but often unseen aspect of the global supply system, the rare earth elements used to make electronics and renewable energy technologies. More than 95 percent of the world’s rare earths come from China and the majority are from Baotou, one of the most polluted regions on the planet. As with conflict minerals, rare earth extraction can lead to or aggravate existing conflicts and the mining and processing of these materials can be highly toxic. And yet, rare earth elements continue to be used widely in the technology that supports daily life.

It is credited Vases: Courtesy of Unknown Fields.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Designing Peace.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318806208/ |title=Project, Rare Earthenware, 2014-2015 |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=26 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>