Global Extraction Observatory

What stories lie beneath the surface of our energy dependence? Who bears the weight of resource extraction? What traces are left behind? How might we begin to see, feel, and represent these shifting terrains? In this presentation the Global Extraction Observatory (GEO) will unpack the entangled narratives of energy—where extractivism, politics, and space collide with the materials needed for our planet's urgent energy transitions. Through images, performance, and text, GEO advances a distinctive spatial practice that incorporates art, design, architecture, and research to explore the cultural, material, and environmental complexities of extractivism in an era of climate breakdown.

GEO is in Germany as the first "Planetary Transitions: Potsdam Artists Residency", a joint initiative by the Artists-in-Berlin Programme of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the city of Potsdam, and the Research Institute for Sustainability (RIFS)". 

GEO is an Australian spatial research collective examining the effects of energy production and resource extraction through creative practice, scholarship and public engagement. Led by Dr Sam Spurr and Dr Eduardo Kairuz, GEO positions architecture in an expanded field which incorporates diverse methods, narratives, and perspectives. This position affords alternative creative approaches to producing new knowledge and amplifying and expert understanding of the climate emergency.

The lecture will take place on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, at 6 pm at the Brandenburg Museum.
The event is free of charge and in English.