PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION AT WASPS THE BRIGGAIT, GLASGOW
31st October – 12th November 2021
Bruised Lands brings together four unique yet interconnected bodies of work by documentary photographer Alan Gignoux: Oil Sands, Monuments, Appalachia, and Russian Rust Belt. Focusing on four locations across Canada, Europe, the US, and Russia, the photographic series document the harvesting of natural resources, and the impact these processes are having on the surrounding environment.
Showcasing ten years of work committed to documenting the industries behind climate change, Bruised Lands will be exhibited at Wasps The Briggait in Glasgow this November concurrent with the COP 26 conference.
Photographer Alan Gignoux has been investigating and documenting the impact of fossil fuels extraction and metals mining and refining on local communities for the past ten years: “I wanted to use the powerful medium of photography to show the world the frightening extent of the damage we do to the environment in order to sustain our lifestyle.”
His photographs record the way in which local landscapes have been permanently altered to make way for mining, scarred by the infrastructure of the mining industry, and poisoned by pollution of the air, soil, and water. The films that accompany his images reveal through interviews the conflicting interests of mining company owners, politicians, activists, industry employees, and residents, throwing light on the complexities involved in transitioning to a low carbon future.
“Alan Gignoux’s work is ground-breaking and insightful in that he rather than just clicking away, he goes behind the scenes to show the real story of real people and places being affected. This is investigative photojournalism at its best. Gignoux prompts action,” says Stuart Reigeluth, Founder of award-winning sustainability quarterly, Revolve.
The window within which we have the possibility of averting climate disaster is closing and we are at a critical moment on which the future of the planet depends. Bruised Lands lays bare the challenges ahead. In the words of interviewee Mike Hudema at Greenpeace in Canada: “The stakes could not be higher in this battle.”
The exhibition will also see the launch of Gignoux’s latest photobook, Appalachia: Mountaintops to Moonscapes. This follows the success of his award-winning first photobook publication, Oil Sands.
About Wasps The Briggait
Wasps (Workshop & Artists Studio Provision Scotland) is a charity that provides affordable studios to support artists, arts organisations, and creative businesses. They currently house about 900 artists and 33 organisations at 20 buildings across Scotland. The Briggait is a historic building in the centre of Glasgow which Wasps redeveloped to offer artists’ studios, offices for cultural organisations, shop front units for creative industry companies and gallery spaces.
https://www.waspsstudios.org.uk/about/
Wasps The Briggait
141 Bridgegate
Glasgow
G1 5HZ
FURTHER INFORMATION:
For further information and images please contact:
Jenny Christensson jenny@gignouxphotos.com
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