Toxic Environments

Thorugh this project I am interested in exploring landscapes of environmental injustice, or urban toxicities, specifically along the Texas Gulf Coast. Here residents are affected by the contaminated air they breathe, the water they drink, and the land they walk. Such toxicities are linked to the petroleum industry's presence along the Houston Ship Channel and manifest themselves as both residual contaminations and contemporary exposures.  The structures that have enticed people to live there, and keep them there, are at the heart of this work.

My preferred interpretive media is the assembled panorama photograph because it is expansive, inclusive and intentional. Large images allow the viewer to see the details of the space and the people living there, bringing her experience into the image to imagine what it is like to live there, not escaping the many daily exposures. The panoramas will be time-sliced, made by stitching together a series of vertical images (up to 5) taken  from the exact same location, so they will represent different subjects taking place in the same space. For example, I make a series of five (5) images (A-E) every ten minutes for two (2) hours, will result in 12 series of five image series, or sixty images. I will then choose one A image, one B image, etc. to create a panorama that represents the space in one frame, but is an assemblage of subjects and events taking place over two hours, providing the viewer with a clearer sense of how the space is used and how various the exposures can be.