Mountaintop removal mining (MTR) is a relatively new form of coal mining which takes the mountain off the coal. MTR requires that the mountains be clear-cut and then blasted by heavy use of explosives to get to the thin layers of coal beneath. What's left behind is a desolate, flattened area filled with rocks, grass and shrubs.
These prints highlight the stages of these disappearing mountains and also demarcate the unearthly blemishes left behind from a satellite's perspective. Visual elements for this project are based on Google Earth images of the mountains in West Virginia.
This series is comprised of 8 photolitho prints with carborundum on Arches Cover White paper.
The beauty of the forests and landscape is remembered by the personal histories of two West Virginia residents of the mountains, Larry Gibson and Maria Gunnoe, telling their story about the effects of MTR on their ancestral home and the surrounding areas.
Audio display for MTR, four surround-sound speakers