sustainable obsolescence
''i would prefer not to'' exhibition - Ekito company offices - Toulouse - France - 2011 / leds zoom profile on stand, photovoltaic module, battery, current converter, current regulator, wiring / variable dimensions

 

The exhibition took place in the offices of a service-sector company, specially opened to the public during working hours.

At the opening, a theater zoom profile projector casts its light onto a photovoltaic module, which converts it into electricity to power the projector via a transformer and a fully charged battery. Losses in the loop make it unreliable, and the device can only function for a few hours. For the rest of the exhibition, the projector is reflected, inactive and switched off, in the mirror like module, as the sunlight does not directly ever shine on the photovoltaic module.

Planned obsolescence was invented, on a global scale, between the two world wars by the Phoebus cartel, composed of brands including Osram, Philips, and General Electric. Through its actions, incandescent light bulbs were standardized to a lifespan of 1,000 hours, whereas the average lifespan before its intervention was 2,500 hours.
Sustainable development is an oxymoron.