Temporary Ground & Strata by Shoshannah White

Temporary Ground and Strata are separate but related projects considering the hidden nature of climate change. The work pairs Arctic landscape photography with photograms (cameraless, analog prints) made directly from glacier ice gathered in Alaska and raw, unprocessed coal collected from active and inactive mines in Pennsylvania.

Contrasting glacier ice and coal, I’m interested in the environmental relationship between these materials. I’m also interested in the geologic connections – both materials are formed through compression over time and each hold our shared planetary history locked into their dense and layered makeup.

While the content relates to the environment, the work is also very much about our psychological connection and disconnection with the natural world. Pairing photogram prints made from material gathered in specific environments with the Arctic landscape photographs, the work is a way to get closer to the specifics of a changing planet and explore ideas of real and fabricated landscapes. The images exist in many forms from original framed prints and mixed-media works to multi-part installations as well as an ongoing, exterior mural project, Chattermark.

Shoshannah White lives and works in Portland, Maine and Roswell, New Mexico.
To view more of Shoshannah’s work, please visit her website.