GMU:Re-enchanting the field/Sabah Elhadid

Background info: “Visually altered landscapes”

“Oil-shale, termed as the only Estonian natural resource, has been called brown gold. It has been both the glory and misery of the area.

The processes in the beginning of the 20th century seemed to be progressive, as they for example provided the country with electric power. Yet the production of oil-shale started to change the appearance of landscapes. In the conditions of naturally flat plateau, the anthropogenic land forms arisen from oil-shale mining and processing, have become important landmarks(Lynch 1960; Pae et äl.2005) as they resemble a “mountain range”

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“The identity value lies in anthropogenic landforms created by at least three human generations and the recreational value .in the use of these unique forms in tourism (lda-Viru maavalitsus 2003). The Kukruse hill serves as an example of one of the first victories over environmental problems caused by oil-shale production: the ever-steaming hypergolic gangue hill known as "Kukruse volcano" was flattened in the 1950s 1960s. When the smoking stopped, air pollution issues were relieved in the nearby villages.” -Locality, Memory, Reconstruction.

Objective:

I’m interested in the Ash Hills ‘the moving mountains’ and how they reshaped geography, altered and still altering the significance of the land. Mountains are typically seen as symbols of permanence: solid, unmoving, and enduring unless acted upon. Yet here, they present a paradox. These hills and mountains are not static; they are active agents of change, embodying the forces of the Anthropocene and dramatically altering the landscape’s appearance over time. I would like to explore the contrast/opposites between what lies above ground ‘artificial mountains’ and what remains hidden below ‘mines’, highlighting the differences between the visible and the invisible, the mountain and the emptiness below.

Currently, I envision working with a series of photographs and films and potentially the outcome could take the form of an artist’s book.

References:

1- A Guide to the Flora and Fauna of the World by Zhao Renhui

https://steidl.de/Books/A-Guide-to-the-Flora-and-Fauna-of-the-World-Steidl-Book-Award-Asia-0406434953.html

2- Francis Alÿs. "When Faith Moves Mountains (2002). Two decades later”

https://proa.org/eng/exhibicion-proa-cuando-la-fe-mueve-montanas-francis-als-textos.php

https://francisalys.com/books/WhenFaithMovesMountains.pdf

3- Carolina Caycedo - Serpent River Book and Serpent Table, 2017

https://www.afterall.org/articles/when-walls-become-rivers-carolina-caycedos-serpent-river-book/

4- Mycorrhizal interactions of orchids colonizing Estonian mine tailings hills

https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3732/ajb.95.2.156