Somewhere Nearby

As the well-known apologue cautions: If a frog placed in water is heated up gradually, it will not notice being boiled alive.

Currently, hundreds of ecologically compromised locations in the U.S. have been listed for remediation by the EPA. While some sites are treated, others remain improperly addressed; many of which are integrated into our communities. Although they are present, impactful, and worrisome, they are often hidden in plain sight.

The project, ‘Somewhere Nearby’, addresses the variety of ways in which toxicity appears — through documenting five superfund sites in New York & New Jersey: Diamond Alkali, Rolling Knolls Landfill, Federal Creosote, Gowanus Canal, and Newton Creek.

Together, these photographs prompt viewers to ask: Why are we resigned to living with surrounding toxicity?