The second event in the TNL! Lithium series will address the relationship between lithium and mental health. Contributions by the LiCo (Lithops Corporation) collective

and anthropologist Emily Martin will explore the role of lithium in our culture of productivity, and the cultural life of mania.

On Sunday 25 Oktober (2pm), detour guide Erik Peters will lead us through the exhibition Lithium. During this Sunday Stroll, Erik will take us on a retreat through the Lithium spa, where he will discuss bodily and climate exhaustion. Erik will speculate with us about alternative energy sources, and imagine what the extremes of our futures might look like. 

How often can we keep recharging our batteries? The treatments in this spa resort are designed to make us think about productivity and the burn-out of people and the planet. Researchers, designers and artists use the element lithium to illuminate the beneficial and harmful aspects of our constant search for energy. Our phones, laptops and electric cars run on lithium. The mineral is also used to treat all kinds of physical and mental disorders. However, lithium mining and use also contribute to environmental damage, the dispossession of Indigenous peoples and oppressive forms of social control. When the cure is worse than the disease, shouldn't we accept the limits of energy and develop new ways of living?