IR

A project by Collective 454–Nicholas Holt, Heiko Prigge, and JP Black.

IR looks at how our view of the environment has been altered by different aspects of the industrial revolution, up until the present day.

IR begins in the slate mines of North Wales, where Nicholas Holt reflects on the irreversible destruction caused by the surge in demand for a valuable natural resource in the 19th century. 

The photographers then turn to how scientific progress – in this case the development of photography itself – has been used to measure environmental decline. Heiko Prigge travelled to Switzerland to re-photograph panoramas of glaciers taken in the first half of the 20th century. 

The project goes on to explore the effects of industry on the environment and society. Prigge adapts archival surveillance photographs made in heavily-polluting industrial plants in the former East Germany. The authorities at the time were concerned about political resistance arising from greater awareness of the environmental damage being done. 

The final view depicts something that many people use every day. JP Black photographs an area of mountainous forest in Switzerland that has been left to “re-wild” for the past 16 years. The purpose is to create carbon offsets – now used in everything from flight tickets to toothpaste.

Shortlisted for the Athens Photography Festival 2024
IR is available as a Zine.