In African Ecomedia, Cajetan Iheka examines the ecological
footprint of media in Africa alongside the representation of
environmental issues in visual culture. Iheka shows how, through
visual media such as film, photography, and sculpture, African
artists deliver a unique perspective on the socioecological costs of
media production, from mineral and oil extraction to the politics of
animal conservation. Among other works, he examines Pieter Hugo's
photography of electronic waste recycling in Ghana and Idrissou
Mora-Kpai's documentary on the deleterious consequences of uranium
mining in Niger. These works highlight not only the exploitation of
African workers and the vast scope of environmental degradation but
also the resourcefulness and creativity of African media makers. They
point to the unsustainability of current practices while
acknowledging our planet's finite natural resources. In foregrounding
Africa's centrality to the production and disposal of media
technology, Iheka shows the important place visual media has in
raising awareness of and documenting ecological disaster even as it
remains complicit in it.