Wolfcamp Catalogue

“Wolfcamp Catalogue” focuses on the oil industry of the Permian Basin of Texas. This work is an inquiry into the photographic medium—in particular, its archivable, amassable properties—as much as an inquiry into our subterranean desires.

“Wolfcamp Catalogue” focuses on the oil production of the Permian Basin. This West Texas region, situated over the Wolfcamp Shale, is the world’s most lucrative oil and gas producer. The project visualizes the unrelenting developments of the area, its post-colonial superstructure, boom or bust markets, ecological implications, and the population’s attitudes of American and West Texas pride. As I survey the visual signals above ground, I excavate our submerged desires.

This work is an inquiry into the photographic medium—in particular, its archivable, amassable and double-edged nature—as much as a dig into our unconscious. To this end, I move away from the dominating narrative of one-man’s heroic journey of discovering oil. Instead, users of the catalogue see images and texts running the gamut of historical photographs, roadside snapshots, and visual data used by geoscientists.

The project takes on a structuralist form in surveying the above ground signifiers of Texas oil fields and its history. As Carbon Democracy (2009) author Timothy Mitchell argues, the “apparatus” of oil production such as technology, mechanics, distribution, or international treaties govern the democratic values of an oil producing region. The square image format, processes such as taking an image every three mile on Interstate-20 result from this structuralist approach.

Eagerly, I anticipate a gusher.