overburden

The ink used to print this artwork was created from fossil fuel pollution particulates. I collected this pollution outside a coal export facility located along the Mississippi River in the industrial corridor between New Orleans and Baton Rouge known as Cancer Alley. To harvest the raw materials I worked with Ms. Gail LeBoeuf, co-director of Inclusive Louisiana, a grassroots community advocate organization dedicated to protecting St. James Parish and neighboring parishes from environmental harm caused by industrial pollution. Through many meetings, Ms. LeBoeuf helped me locate sites contaminated by fossil fuel pollution particulates and educated me about the history of this region and the effects of pollution on her community. I received a Monroe Research Fellowship from Tulane University to create this ink and directly support Inclusive Louisiana’s work in honor of LeBoeuf’s guidance on the project. I also received grants from the Platforms Fund and the Puffin Foundation to support this project and the work of Inclusive Louisiana,

In mining, overburden is the material that lies above an area that lends itself to economical exploitation: it is the rock, soil, and ecosystem that lie above a coal seam or ore body. This print explores the negative feedback loop that our landscape experiences as a result of our continued reliance on the oil and gas industry: as natural resources are extracted and exploited, the people and environment are overburdened by pollution and geographic precariousness. This print uses fossil fuel pollution itself as a resource—as a material to make art with—to question how we can break out of these vicious cycles and change course in pursuit of a livable future.

To inquire about purchasing this print, please email hnnh.chlw@gmail.com