Vivian Stockman, American, born 1962
Bushy Fork Coal Sludge Impoundment, 2009
Vivian Stockman’s photographs of various mountaintop removal mining sites and coal sludge impoundments in West Virginia are part of her activism against the environmental injustices committed by the coal industry in Appalachia. Her photos of the Bushy Fork Coal Impoundment illustrate the strange geometry and colors of a landscape scarred by industry. The unnatural blue color of the lagoon is the result of the various chemicals used in coal refinement, which are subsequently stored at sites like Bushy Fork or are injected into abandoned underground mines, where it risks contaminating groundwater. Construction on this impoundment began in 1995 and its owner, Massey Energy, has been expanding the dam ever since, despite local opposition. Label by Sarah Roberts