Fracking the Land
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d4a1fcbd84253e2783e55b25778272a1dabb6300f431df65fbf9871d508e8710/storage-tanks_print-1.jpg)
Storage tanks - Kensington, Ohio
Fracking the Land shows the beauty of nature contrasted against the destructive impact of human progress. Images in the series depict natural landscapes with subtle human alterations, their machinations quietly blending into a living aesthetic. I pair these images with photographs from my family farm in Ohio where they have leased the land usage rights of our farm to a hydraulic fracking company. Although our farm has yet to be used for hydraulic fracking it is only a matter of time before it is.
The impact of hydraulic fracking reaches far beyond the wells used to extract oil. There are steel mills that fabricate the pipes needed to penetrate the earth. The most consequential issue is the disposal of the chemical-laced post-fracking brine. A veritable cocktail of toxic chemicals and oil, this brine emits radiation and also has three times the salinity of standard salt water. This liquid is usually disposed of in a system of open-air ponds where it slowly drains back into the earth while emitting radiation. However many ponds are filled beyond capacity causing too much pressure in the old well which then creates earthquakes and contaminated aquifers. Even the mining of the silica sand poses a range of threats to environmental and human health, as it is collected using a method similar to mountain top removal which causes a variety of health complications for those people who breathe in the resulting dust.
I’ve long been an opponent of hydraulic fracking, and my work Fracking the Land reflects this. There is a deceptive beauty that lives in the tension between the natural world and these quiet but destructive incursions. It is the goal of this project to capture that beauty, while revealing the coiled predator lurking beneath.
M. Katie White
The impact of hydraulic fracking reaches far beyond the wells used to extract oil. There are steel mills that fabricate the pipes needed to penetrate the earth. The most consequential issue is the disposal of the chemical-laced post-fracking brine. A veritable cocktail of toxic chemicals and oil, this brine emits radiation and also has three times the salinity of standard salt water. This liquid is usually disposed of in a system of open-air ponds where it slowly drains back into the earth while emitting radiation. However many ponds are filled beyond capacity causing too much pressure in the old well which then creates earthquakes and contaminated aquifers. Even the mining of the silica sand poses a range of threats to environmental and human health, as it is collected using a method similar to mountain top removal which causes a variety of health complications for those people who breathe in the resulting dust.
I’ve long been an opponent of hydraulic fracking, and my work Fracking the Land reflects this. There is a deceptive beauty that lives in the tension between the natural world and these quiet but destructive incursions. It is the goal of this project to capture that beauty, while revealing the coiled predator lurking beneath.
M. Katie White
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2f79077d19895aa10141ccabbbfb8dfd0824eef9667f80a651998a01ce20ac3c/FK2.jpg)
Flags of Fracking - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d03f98700cad4417ba89cfa79f523abe7111efab924435825d7f52bdd421adca/FK3.jpg)
Hidden Warnings
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6e1b9ed3e5e17cc786f13670eef258e940b74ec54d53c08c67060ee850dba35b/silica-pond_print.jpg)
Silica Pond - Portage, Wisconsin
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/99489e7f11052e384db7c1e5cb0e7eaa03d4fbe57d67939d7dc01cf80a7dbbc7/FK4.jpg)
Silica Crane - Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a092c90c139fe124c73f792d20c37d3a9776486971e19ee5fc448ff42f139347/hidding_print-1.jpg)
Hidden site - Canton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a0adca77eebfbc42412426ed8b068cb458cd21e12b3438ab7926d04738300b66/FK5.jpg)
Hills of Silica - Pardeeville, Wisconsin
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2e398e0602c1693ee458773e47b0c85c5b1ddeff6e0d16607f1779d33e0300ad/rosebud-mining_printing.jpg)
Mining Signs
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a8ce687fe5a50d92138fbb3feb0f9280f1e18e4c07c81cba8e4c65a27023ed04/large-site_print-1.jpg)
Large Site - East Canton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1175f8ab29971db402e8331e56c41d9f423e6723d972bb49f65afe607345ce3e/leave-out_print.jpg)
“LEAVE OUT” - Wooster, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a56b8664363182f53dcf8908889881659742985d16623bfaa5f478bc444f8d31/no-smoking_print-1.jpg)
Danger - Canton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/118c0acd890e951269b63144780b71acf70300d42426781e02035090d4103578/house-and-site_print.jpg)
In the distance - East Canton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3f910d8920ebc5aa64356e91cf0c0bcc20021a064142d9f535601de26b676abd/park-fracking_print-1.jpg)
Park & Brine Storage - Canton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a513f45b42f711f863e8a77deb8a1a272ff6b8546de61a1b163c2dad12436521/sand-field_printing.jpg)
False Mountains - Pardeeville, Wisconsin
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/27f0ef4296385d8c668c2b041af7323653ef197761c9bb51fe029d433818cad3/sand-hills_print-1.jpg)
Silica Mining - Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/11401c72b55c9ed15ddd718c7f18e6fda999ce664cbeb36189d5a1c44592601b/silica-water_print-1.jpg)
Silica Pond - Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f38bddd1dd212637056e34fae5ae0b2ad2d5445bb5af1500ab6a65b550b13815/sandhills_print-1.jpg)
Truck Entrance - Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e85fe142179c9f6beda8545f8ca6674669604b4ac8a546a2fc0c0a3079122152/warning-signs_printing.jpg)
Warning Signs - Hanoverton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b95356d45a11438f54171ded74f220f4e9c0466fa57ba1cade67352a9a242ee2/FK.jpg)
Gas Pipes & deer - Waynesburg, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/44ef22d536edad9e753650775a0dca648684d5ab7d8e57f1415fe8d9418ca912/trailer_edit.jpg)
Trailer - Lowellville, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/07ee2ba6411048c1564c2b74d329ab66365c7f4bfbdfb5456eaa7879ae42a3af/hidden-hills_printing.jpg)
Site in the distance - East Rochester, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/6333fa6943d507d2c8bdb552828082bfe5d7d8e6f8efcde65b4822ef54a5b973/two-directions_.jpg)
Fork in the road - East Rochester, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f824d70ac70e28bb3e45e138583043d53fab92995d979600da9fa8ac07017ef4/brine_printing.jpg)
Brine pond - Canton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/73af6e2120477ce23ae1c3f26351653018c7f2d7d2b83b9cd6f8b25001ebad4a/close-to-home_printing.jpg)
Tracks - Wooster, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/a3d95a5d131d09b0b75e9d3963c30a4eeb0c17808e25123fac1e4c00deecd3bb/distant-site_printing.jpg)
Corn Site - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7ecace6f948c1fe5ed9a9644a977d4397bb80464ba42510f621ae71158ff8939/Fieldpipingfinal.jpg)
Hidden pipe - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5602aef224dd3e983514b7f91bae6012e080cd818bcbea763d454f97045bbf6d/Towerflowersfinal.jpg)
Fracking tower - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/dcf5e5d22ea3aa3aa2c4d141f32854fc111bda0aa00b11ca22fd3f1afa5e79a0/fieldsitefinal.jpg)
Fall fracking - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0cb7a9c0ee1636a6dfc5b7475a967d26ed276406b80728d23b86e47319fda1b9/behindsitefinal.jpg)
Pipe clearing - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/70d38c289c8f4fc890bb4b5dfc56747f4c5d5b2fd83729c25f6b7c3eff8230c3/pump-fieldfinal.jpg)
Gas Pipes - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/65c6e3dd37560b4ba4bde95e3a3e1e8451b9f559fa5afb98586468b4175d656a/entranceproof.jpg)
Out of view - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1d78163ac4edfcd0a3aa8a618ae59e777075637ef50d5ee254086cc7f0569a32/treefinal.jpg)
Special tree - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/111191eaad03aa5159f49098556d793f002e4ae3f010dfb29f368857fef5554d/houseandfrackingfinal.jpg)
Entrance tracks - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/ff1413d5581fc873f309cc8047901443f8de1766d47b5b4e8901ea3e61addff6/storagetanksfinal.jpg)
School house tanks - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8376d4258a62aa2735779d22448e9e326221c357b2abcd0a9d70db5e99e44ec3/trucksproof.jpg)
Waiting in line - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b1fa2802f20d87f645276e14bc5068b4bcde68ac97d1be41625bbe5784a9ffb0/siteabovefinal.jpg)
Hill Site - Carrollton, Ohio
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8556a501a0ac17eb4e477100813c810f7719c279e228d15c7214ad1a90343f2e/pipesproof.jpg)
Protected pipes - East Rochester, Ohio
ALL IMAGES
© M.KATIE WHITE 2023
© M.KATIE WHITE 2023