Home, Destrehan, Louisiana

Richard Misrach, American

Home, Destrehan, Louisiana, 1998 (print 2012)

At first glance of this photo, one barely notices the house that is there. It is such a classic house, with the yellow tinted walls in contrast to the green lawn. However, you would barely notice it was even there given the vastness of the factory behind it. This factory overtakes it, making it look miniscule. It is similar to how these industries over shadow the people within the communities who live there. This is an image taken by Richard Misrach to highlight the proximity of homes to places of high pollution. The community that is close to this factory experiences air, water and noise pollution. It is a community with higher rates of poverty that these companies are able to exploit given the taxation policies. This is yet another example of environmental injustice. Label by Riley Kelley

Norco Cumulus Cloud, Shell Oil Refinery, Norco, Louisiana

Richard Misrach, American

Norco Cumulus Cloud, Shell Oil Refinery, Norco, Louisiana, 1998 (print 2012)

Richard Misrach’s photograph depicts a seemingly natural environment that hides the devastation of producing oil. In the distance is an oil refinery, polluting and harming Louisiana's economy, ecology, and people. Misrach composes a powerful photograph centering a Norco Cumulus cloud, which appears natural yet is toxic and made of volatile hydrocarbons from refining oil. This toxic cloud is relatively far from the refinery but still incredibly toxic, making this area in the south live up to its name, “Cancer Alley,” as its residents breathe in chemicals causing repertory health issues. Worldwide, communities that work and live by oil refineries live in environmental hazards manipulated by companies and their governments. Label by Clarissa Cantacuzene

While at first glance, this photo captures a near symmetrical natural landscape in Norco, Louisiana, the backstory and further considerations reshape the initial impression. The large cloud present in the photograph, despite seeming naturally occuring, is actually the result of pollution. At the vanishing point lies the Shell Oil Refinery, the culprit of this pollution. The pollution is disguised by the seemingly mundace and harmless, a call to “slow violence” which is invisible, but nonetheless, disproportionately lethal to minority communities, especially those residing in this part of Louisiana that is referred to as “Cancer Alley,” whose name and reputation precedes itself. Label by Courtney Hand

Fowl Language

Paul Jackson, American

Fowl Language, circa 2010

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is just one of many catastrophes resulting from BP’s oil and natural gas extraction and refinement operations. Oil spills cause a multitude of harms to nonhuman creatures, including the death of waterfowl. Images of birds slicked in oil are often used to critique or bring attention to the harms of oil spills, but Jackson flips the mold by painting a diverse array of waterfowl and other seaside birds taking their revenge on the oil conglomerate BP. This shifts the narrative away from viewing nonhuman animals as pitiful or passive, giving them agency in a cross-species fight against environmental degradation. Label by Jordan Hadlock

Coal miner visits elementary school

Elaine McMillion Sheldon, American

Coal miner visits elementary school, 2023

In this image from Sheldon’s film King Coal, coal miner Fred Powers talk to an elementary school classroom about his time in the mines. He made a choice to come into the classroom with coal dust still on his face and shirt to show the children the realities of working in the mines. The contrast of the clean whiteboard to the dirt on his face shows how out of place he seems in this environment. Children should not be exposed to coal, which in turn brings attention to Fred, as in reality no one should be exposed to coal the way he is daily. Label by Lucas Theobald