Mezzotint on Zerkall Copperplate (dead stock)

Edition of 15

5 ½ x 4 11/16 inches  (plate impression)

9 7/8 x 7 5/8 (paper)

Recently I have been captivated by the old water towers in Poland, many abandoned and in various states of disrepair, by railway stations, town centers, factories and industrial plants that they used to serve. I arrived in Wrocław in September of 2024 as the region was taking on record breaking rainfall over a four-day period. Towns ahead of this city along the Oder River were devastated, and for several days we waited for the impending river surge. This was followed by hurricanes bombarding the southeastern United States and devastating flash flooding in eastern Spain.

The water towers are witnesses to the industrial and extractive history of southern Poland; its energy policies, politics, and climate crises. Climate events are increasing in frequency and destruction, a stark contrast to the days of water towers. I am exploring these early industrialization period structures as a visual metaphor for society’s use and control of water, working with gravity and natural forces, as opposed to two centuries of industrialization later, unrestricted burning of fossil fuels and heating the earth, when we no longer have control.

This edition is printed on Zerkall Copperplate remaining stock. The German mill flooded in 2021.