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| Mahoning River |
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| Dead Fish |
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| Mosquito Lake State Park |
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| Preserving Ohio's Heritage |
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| West Branch State Park |
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| Air Pollution |
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| Geneva-on-the-Lake State Park |
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| Cleveland Lakefront State Park |
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| Construction |
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| Nelson-Kennedy Ledges State Park |
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| Pollution |
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| Lake Milton State Park |
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| Livestock Kill |
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| Tinker Creek State Park |
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| Lake Erie |
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| Punderson State Park |
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| Pymatuning State Park |
Artist Statement
This series of landscape photographs examines hydraulic fracture drilling in
Ohio state parks. Ohio has seventy-four state parks that provide an opportunity
for people to visit a safe, fun environment and to explore Ohio’s natural and
cultural heritage. Fracking was made legal by passage of a recent bill and
presents several possible environmental concerns to the natural landscape. The
full long-term environmental impact of fracking is unknown. The process is
currently unregulated due to numerous exemptions in federal laws, and is a
threat to our public health. Along with the drilling come fraccidents which
range from catastrophic fish kills, violation of state carcinogenic and
neurotoxin safety standards in local air, dead livestock and local wildlife,
and has been connected to seismic activity. It has been linked to over a
thousand incidents of groundwater contamination across the US. The problem is
that neither industry nor government has done any long-term studies to a
process that until recently was considered a radical procedure that was only
used as a measure of last resort.
Large-scale digital prints
comprise this body of work. The images were taken at state park locations
around Northeast Ohio that are being considered
for possible fracking. The images will be divided into two paired groupings
that include panoramic images that document popular areas for visitors
along with images of fraccident concerns revolving around this extreme
drilling. The images are placed in a grid pattern that will be easy to read and
are mounted to aluminum to appear to be floating off the wall.
Fracking is a personal concern. When I was younger,
everything revolved around being outside and enjoying the great outdoors and
having a love for nature. As I matured I became more conscience of how we
neglect our environment and by extension an important part of our cultural
heritage. Then, in high school I took a trip to Italy and saw firsthand how the
Italian people are very invested in preserving their history, culture, and
architecture. This is when I realized how different Americans are from people
in other cultures; we are so quick to cut down
forests, ruin the habitat of animals, and tear down historic buildings. As
Americans we take our resources for granted and lose sight of what really is
important and worth protecting. Fracking demonstrates neglect to the
environment and our heritage that may not be reversible.
Michele Manna
