Spectral Landscapes

Reimagining a Toxic Mine Dump as an Avian City Lung

Georgia Satchwell

BArch Hons 2022

Supervisors:
Unit Leader: Jiaxin Yan Gong
Unit Assistant: Ruth Manda
Unit Assistant: Thandeka Mnguni

UNIT 14
Rogue Roots: Magic of Port and Passage

Awards
History & Theory Prize
The Making Prize (B Arch Hons) with Ameera Hoedemaker

Spectral Landscapes: Reimagining a Toxic Mine Dump as an Avian City Lung interrogates the Anthropocene and the spectres that haunt our world; the vestiges and practices of the past, present and future - which take the form of destructive histories and dreamworlds of progress.

The extractive legacy of gold mining in Johannesburg has fueled the Anthropocene and comprises the very fabric of the city. Drawing reference from the ecological thinking of Timothy Morton and the work of artist duo Nina Barnett and Jeremy Bolen, this body of work interrogates the insidious effects of abandoned mines on the biosphere, and how we can both render their forces visible and counteract their toxicity.

Following birds as the protagonist, this project finds its roots on the abandoned mine wasteland of Top Star Drive-In, and reimagines the toxic landscape as a bird sanctuary. The significance of this work lies in the potential to reform tailings into productive city spaces and remediate the destructive spectres that linger as the city’s shadow.

Keywords:
Manipulated Landscapes, Anthropocene, Mine Dust, Bird Sanctuary, Phytoremediation, Ecological Embodiment, Spectres