This visualization introduces me to the concept of shadow places—boundary zones whose histories of violence and extractive capitalism are obscured. The photo offers a striking juxtaposition to this concept. It is a visualization that is dependent on the larger photo essay for context and interrogates the interlaced meanings of masculinity, leisure and pollution in a post-industrial coastal site.
The caption layers multiple concept and ideas. It complicates my understanding of the inter-relationship between leisure (wetsuits) and industrial pollution. The connections drawn between surfing, male military personnel and the petrochemical industry were interesting if a little difficult to follow. I would love to see even more explicit connections made to the image
The image is a photo, a striking portait of a male surfer. It is a headshot, and appears to have been taken in a studio setting, with a seamless background and lit by portrait lighting (there appear to be two lamps reflected in his eyes). But this is a guess, since I cannot discern a background. The photo raises so many questions. If it is not a documentary shot, then it staged, the slag artfully (and effectively) applied. I understand the image to be illustrative of the caption and the issue it raises.
I don't know about enriching this image. It is an arresting image on its own. I would, however, love to see more context, a wider-shot, if it is a documentary shot. If not, I would also be interested in a side-by-side headshot of this (military) man in work clothes or uniform.
The use of words like, "defunct" "postindustrial" "long history" against this image of a man in a wetsuit, his face covered in slag, renders the question of time and timelessness critical for making sense of the toxic histories of shadow places. This visualization raises so many interesting questions for further exploration.
