Tracing Infrastructure Ruination through Body Mapping in Cape Town

This proposed paper examines the deteriorating state of a wastewater treatment facility in Cape Town, South Africa, highlighting the intersection of physical and ecological ruination. The paper builds on the work of Gavin Lucas (2013) who explores the concept of "slow ruins," where neglect and lack of maintenance contribute to gradual, persistent deterioration and gradual, persistent socio-ecological harm. Infrastructures are often seen as just an object, exploring “slow ruination” offers an opportunity to understand the complex temporalities of slow loss and decay. In doing so, it suggests that infrastructures are lively works-in-progress that need to be perpetually reshaped to serve rapidly changing social structures. It examines the consequences of neglect and by developing theories of temporality, permeability and porosity, the paper explores how contaminants infiltrate both human and non-human bodies. Because the facility is not adequately processing contaminants, they ‘leak’ into surrounding biologies and ecologies. In this sense, the paper argues that ruins of this nature are not passive; over time, they actively bring about other forms of ruination. Utilising body mapping as a methodological tool, the research aims to make visible the often invisible impacts of contamination. This qualitative artistic approach allows participants to express their experiences of toxicity through artistic representation, fostering awareness and recognition of the intricate connections between time, bodies, failing infrastructure and ecologies. In order to capture the experiences of non-humans beside humans, this research also body-maps plants and fish using contaminant data collected from scientific testing. In doing so, it hopes to draw attention to the gradual, invisibilized violences that ruins perpetuate.