Untitled

Sarah Hoskins, American, born 1965

Untitled, 2017

The liveliness of the trees and humanistic limbs of the branches give mystery to the Appalachian Mountains—the oldest mountain range in the world. The suspense of not knowing what is coming behind the next rolling hill is symbolic in this photo of the suspense of not knowing when the next Mountain top removal explosion will occur. The shrubs to the left with their human-like features seem peaceful, but that is just until they, too, are detonated. The region of Appalachia is in critical danger. The mining industry has taken over the region, bullied it to the point of little hope. The business of mining has an incomparable amount of less value than the land it is destroying. The people of the industry, who continue to hurt the land, are genuinely hurting themselves in the process. They inhabit the land of Appalachia, but they do not care about it; they do not care for the life of the animals that are their neighbors or the trees that provide their life force. Art and Environmental Justice is largely about humanizing the victims of environmental injustice. In this photograph, the land looks alive, and Hoskins humanizes the primary victim of environmental injustice in Appalachia – the land. Label by Annabel Bentley

Black Coal Miner Memorial

Sarah Hoskins, American, born 1965

Black Coal Miner Memorial, 2017

This photograph of The Black Coal Miner Memorial in Lynch, Kentucky, depicts the centrality of the figure of the black coal miner to Lynch. The memorial consists of the image of the black coal miner alongside various ephemera associated with the occupation of mining. This constellation of images is explained via the gold placard on the left. These placards are a particularly interesting element of the memorial in that while memorials are often didactic, that learning is typically interpretive, not explanatory (this memorial is telling you how to interact with/feel about it). Furthermore, this memorial exists on the side of the Lynch Public Colored School demonstrating that while black coal miners have been integral to Lynch’s economy and community, they are not worthy of memorializing or commemorating in traditionally conceived of forms of commemoration, such as monuments in more highly trafficked areas thus allowing for more public engagement and memory/meaning-making. Label by Jay Jolles

Black Appalachia

Sarah Hoskins, American

Black Appalachia, 2017

The photographer Sarah Hoskins set out to show that the coal industry is diverse and not just exclusive to white workers. The photograph above is one artwork from her collection displaying the racial diversity of a coal community in Lynch, Kentucky. The scene takes place in a church as the deacon and others pray for Reverend Hampton. Many of the community members have a history in coal mining that has led to a shared sense of pride and strengthened bonds to support each other. Despite the decline of the coal industry in Lynch, these people continue to support each other in times of need and work towards a brighter future. Label by Jonathan Yoder

This is a photo by Sarah Hoskins from Katelyn Fossett’s article “Black Appalachia” showing members of the Mount Sinai Baptist Church in Lynch Kentucky praying for Reverend Hampton before his knee surgery. Through her photographs Hoskins documents Black communities in Appalachia that are left out of the common narrative, as Appalachia is usually characterized as “rural, mostly poor and mostly white” yet “coal miners have never been a racially homogenous group.” Fossett examines how the history of coal mining in the region created a large boom and bust leaving many towns empty as emigration rates rose. Lynch is one such town, with its population at a mere 800 people after the collapse of the coal economy. There is a juxtaposition between the pride people feel about their work in the mines, with the environmental issues that mountaintop removal mining has caused. Label by Savannah Singleton