honorable mention
Michael Naify united states
title
Dispatches from the Abyss
While driving around the state I was constantly aware of the mines that dot the landscape. Even the state capital, Belo Horizonte, is ringed by active mines and trailing’s dams. My desire to photograph these mines quickly ran into the reality that it is very difficult to get close to them. I was able to get into some old, abandoned mines and even a couple of active ones, but soon came to the realization that to get what I wanted I needed to get altitude. During the lockdown of 2020 I used the time to get a drone and learn how to use it.
The photos expose a reality that I had never fully understood. The activities used to extract the resources that make our modern life possible come at the expense of places and people. The effects on the environment are profound. There is no reclamation of these sites. There is no way to put the mountains back. The results of modern intensive mining leave the site without any topsoil and unable to sustain life. They have become a dead zone.
The worst is that I realize that I, as are all of us, complicit in this destruction.
Education:
The University of San Francisco, 1989 - BA History
The University of San Francisco, 1992 - MBA
San Francisco Art Institute, 2017 - MFA
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entry description
This body of work stems from the 2019 trailing’s dam collapse in Brumadinho, MG killing some 270 people. I was able to visit and shoot the aftermath of the disaster with some difficulty but was interested in understanding more about the mining industry, which is the main driver of the economy, in fact the state’s name is Minas Gerais (General Mines) derived from the importance of mining from its colonial past starting at the end of the 16th Century.While driving around the state I was constantly aware of the mines that dot the landscape. Even the state capital, Belo Horizonte, is ringed by active mines and trailing’s dams. My desire to photograph these mines quickly ran into the reality that it is very difficult to get close to them. I was able to get into some old, abandoned mines and even a couple of active ones, but soon came to the realization that to get what I wanted I needed to get altitude. During the lockdown of 2020 I used the time to get a drone and learn how to use it.
The photos expose a reality that I had never fully understood. The activities used to extract the resources that make our modern life possible come at the expense of places and people. The effects on the environment are profound. There is no reclamation of these sites. There is no way to put the mountains back. The results of modern intensive mining leave the site without any topsoil and unable to sustain life. They have become a dead zone.
The worst is that I realize that I, as are all of us, complicit in this destruction.
about the photographer
Michael is an artist currently living in Connecticut. His work deals with Politics, Environment as well as the psychological/philosophical conundrums. He has lived and worked for many years in Italy where he was involved in the purchase and restoration of historically significant buildings. He also started a publishing company in Brazil (Cosac & Naify) that was the largest publisher of art books in that country. Upon returning to the United States, he decided to dedicate himself to art and enrolled in the MFA program at the San Francisco Art Institute.Education:
The University of San Francisco, 1989 - BA History
The University of San Francisco, 1992 - MBA
San Francisco Art Institute, 2017 - MFA
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