Fueling Modernity

Starion Bank Gallery

Fueling Modernity presents a comparative examination of industrial landscapes through documentary photographs and mixed media artworks. Both exhibiting artists have resided in regions that have been reshaped in response to natural resource extraction—in Western Cape, South Africa and North Dakota. Rather than advance a specific political message, images from both artists aim to interrogate the way in which energy production has introduced new forms into the landscape and transformed rural communities. Posed as a conversation, the exhibition identifies parallels and departures between the two regions and articulates a visual vocabulary of industrial impacts.

Jeannette Unite (b. 1964) earned an MFA from Michaelis School of Art in Cape Town and has exhibited her work throughout Africa, Europe, and North America. Throughout her career, Unite has collaborated with earth scientists and other researches, such as the Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford University and Oxford University Museum, and has exhibited work from these collaborations through the United Nations. Unite currently resides in Cape Town, South Africa.

Meghan Kirkwood (b. 1981) earned a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in Photography before completing her MFA in Studio Art at Tulane University and PhD at the University of Florida. She has received numerous fellowships, including the National Parks Service, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Lakeside Lab (Iowa). Kirkwood’s photography has been exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, and South Africa. Kirkwood is a native New Englander, and currently lives in St. Louis, Missouri.