Crystal Carter, American
“Please Pass the Bottle Bill!”, 2008
This is one photo taken as part of Shannon Elizabeth Bell’s Photovoice project in West Virginia from 2008 to 2009. By participating in the photovoice project Carter took many photos like this one and accompanied them with stories to highlight why the photo was taken and the significance to Carter (or other photographers). In the case of this photo(story), Carter highlights an environmental issue affecting rural West Virginia that does not necessarily flow from the coal industry: plastic bottle pollution in surface waters. Carter identifies the harm to wildlife this pollution can do in the photostory accompanying this image, though the microplastics breaking off of these bottles can lead to similar health concerns to coal itself. Label by Frank Kennedy
This photograph was taken as a part of Shannon Bell’s Photovoice series, a feminist ethnographic study meant to show the reality of environmental injustices in coal mining communities across West Virginia. Participants were provided a camera and asked to take pictures of anything they wanted to reveal within their communities. This photograph shows plastic bottles washed up after a heavy rainfall, advocating for the passing of a bottle deposit legislature. Not all artwork needs to be aesthetic or artistically composed to tell a story or enact change. Giving marginalized individuals the voice to tell their own stories through an art medium such as photography empowers advocation for environmental justice. Label by Bayleigh Albert