Camera Geologica: An Elemental History of Photography by Dr. Siobhan Angus is the lens through which we explore the multi-media artwork of Rosell Meseguer and Kosisochukwu Nnebe. 

This deeply researched and resourced book contextualizes the dark side of photography, the mining and extraction of elements that make printing possible. Our conversation centers on the many intersections of image-making and resource extraction. The deep scholarship of my guest's practices makes manifest the complex relationship between photography, colonization, labor, ecological, economic and social impact. 

In this conversation, Siobhan, Rosell and Kosisochukwudiscuss, among other things:

Flipping photography on its head

Implication and possibilities of the interaction of light with metals

Extraction of rare earth elements

Process-based practices - artists thinking out loud 

Ideas, materiality & visibility

Art exploring gaps and erasure in archives

Chlorophyll printing

Colonial histories

Food policy, manufacturing and distribution

Talking about the past & the present simultaneously

Connecting science & art

Illuminating economics in our daily life choices

Art creating theory

Referenced in the episode:

Dr. Siobhan Angus

Rosell Meseguer

Kosisochukwu Nnebe

Hiền Hoàng

Women and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her by Susan Griffin