The Effects of Intensive Farming in Australia as Seen by Karoliina Kase

The Estonian artist documented how industrial agriculture shapes and impoverishes the territory.

Karoliina Kase spent three years travelling across Australia's vast countryside, joining one of many teams tasked with maintaining the thousands of kilometres of fencing across the country to contain invasive species such as European rabbits and feral cats. It was the perfect opportunity to document how industrial agriculture shapes and impoverishes the territory, hinting at the reasons why the environment reacts in increasingly destructive ways.

The Ravens Tell You Where the Dead Are is a series about rural Australia in the age of extinction. From 2019 until 2021, I travelled around the country with a fencing team. Throughout this time, I documented intensive agriculture, especially animal agriculture, and its detrimental effects on the environment.

While I focus on past and current land management, I’m also interested in the people who live in rural Australia as they are increasingly affected by environmental degradation and climate change. The Ravens Tell You Where the Dead Are is a story about the loss of natural life and livelihoods amidst humanity’s continuing destructive consumption.

Words and pictures by Karoliina Kase

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Karoliina Kase was born in Estonia, but her studies have taken her to Costa Rica and the United States. She graduated with an Honours degree from Brown University. Karoliina has exhibited in solo and group shows in Europe, North America, and Asia. She currently lives and works in Australia.  Follow her on Instagram and PhMuseum.

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This feature is part of Story of the Week, a selection of relevant projects from our community handpicked by the PhMuseum curators.