FRACKING ISLANDS
Combining filmed footage from the Chingaza natural reserve in Colombia and 3D generated images, Laura Colmenares Guerra elaborates a narrative around the environmental consequences of hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as fracking). This highly contaminating process of extracting fossil fuels is visually described in a series of animations that reflect on the aggressive impact on the land and the spread of toxic chemicals that destroy the natural habitat and leave a barren land. The harsh, black and white imagery gives this narrative a sense of mourning, while the 3D models and abstract simulations denote our distanced view of this dangerous practice fueled by corporate greed.
THE FRACKING ISLAND SERIES IS FEATURED IN NIIO, READ THE FULL INTERVIEW BY PAU WAELDER HERE.
Hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground. The high-pressure impulsions cause the nearby shale rock to crack, creating fissures where fossil fuels are released, flowing into the surface of the Earth. The rests of the toxic fluids contaminate the water of the subsoil of the Earth.
The water contamination process consequence of the hydraulic rupture is visualised from close-up animations to larger-scale images where the fracking fluid travels through the pipelines reaching the groundwater.
Fracking Island #1 / 1 channel video /4K/ Vertical / Duration: 00:01:29
Fracking Island #2 / 1 channel video /4K/ Vertical / Duration: 00:01:29
Fracking Island #3 / 1 channel video /4K/ Horizontal / Duration: 00:00:44
Fracking Island #4 / 1 channel video /4K/ Horizontal / Duration: 00:01:00
Fracking Island #5 / 1 channel video /4K/ Horizontal / Duration: 00:01:00
Fracking Island #6 / 1 channel video /4K/ Horizontal / Duration: 00:01:00
Fracking Island #7 / 1 channel video /4K/ Horizontal / Duration: 00:01:04
Fracking Island #8 / 1 channel video /4K/ Horizontal / Duration: 00:00:34
