My submission for
The Vermont Center for Photography Of Land and Place exhibition:
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| Selling Produce Next to a Superfund Site - 1989 |
In 1989 I traversed the United States documenting environmental degradation, from injection wells pumping toxic waste deep into the earth to farmers selling produce adjacent to Superfund sites. Chronicling the wounds intensified my concern for our planet. I commenced using a hazardous waste disposal company to remove spent chemicals from my darkroom instead of pouring them down the drain.
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| Walden Pond - 2019 |
Thirty years later I created large scale Zentangle drawings by walking deliberately through sand. I then sent a drone aloft to capture the ephemeral works that are only fully viewable from the sky. I piloted the drone from the shores of Walden Pond near Henry David Thoreau’s cabin where he wrote Walden.
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| Horizons - 2023 |
While digital photography comes with its own set of negative environmental impacts, discovering that I could intentionally create in-camera multiple exposures with the medium led to a new way of seeing. Whether capturing the interconnected nature of clam harvesters at low tide or utilizing the minimal elements of sea and sky to render the magnificence of the ocean, I overlay multiple views simultaneously to render the essence of subjects.
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| Ocean Aperture - 2024 |
Though the environmental concerns persist thirty-five years after my initial reporting, my modes of photographic expression have evolved.
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| Sea and Sky - 2024 |
Professor John Nordell teaches courses in the Arts, Media, and Design Program at American International College in Springfield, Mass. He blogs about the creative process at johnnordell.com Instagram: john.nordell
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