Elizabeth
Shugart
I am interested in the persisting colonial perspectives that view the earth and nature as an object that can be manipulated and exploited for our benefit. While these perspectives are rooted in history, they continue in large corporations and government agencies that prioritize economic development over the environment. The activities sustain our communities, providing jobs and economic stimulation, but deteriorate the ecosystems, polluting the planet and people in doing so. As we objectify the planet, we disregard the living, breathing planet, misunderstanding and underestimating the importance of a properly functioning ecosystem for our own survival. Each of my projects reflect the Anthropocene – our current geological age classified by human activities impacting the Earth’s systems – and the complex issues that stem from our reliance on exploitation.
My works fluctuate between photographs and collages, shifting from documentation of reality to visualizations of complexities. Photography enables me to capture the different levels of our decisions and impacts, displaying the reality of the situation. I rely on photography to document the exploitive activities and the natural systems and communities impacted by it, capturing the different elements of the complex issue independently. My process shifts to collage as the overlap between economic, environmental, and social issues become increasingly interconnected and complicated. The topics considered are rooted in history, resulting in an integration of archival images into the collages.