As far back as Ecclesiastes 3:20—”All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return”—dust has been acknowledged as an elemental constant in the natural world. However, certain types of the powdery substance aren’t so beneficial to Mother Nature. Take petcoke, or petroleum coke, the dustlike carbon material derived as a by-product of the oil-refining process. Around four years ago, Chicago’s southeast-side residents began to notice that the mountains of black dust along the banks of the Calumet River were having a negative impact on air quality and public health. Transported on trains from the BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana, petcoke was being stored at three sites on the southeast side, only a few hundred yards from residential areas. The exhibition “Petcoke: Tracing Dirty Energy” at the Museum of Contemporary Photography alerts visitors that petcoke is a local and global hazard. Partnering with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Southeast Environmental Task Force, curators Natasha Egan and Karen Irvine commissioned new works by eight artists and collaborative teams whose responses to this issue are displayed throughout the three floors of the museum.
In a publication issued for the exhibit, Holmes writes of the petcoke problem that “thanks to the activism of Southeast Chicago residents, this simple but crucial fact began to leave the realm of managed oblivion and enter that of common knowledge.” With “Petcoke: Tracing Dirty Energy,” this environmental plague is not only documented but made more thought-provoking. In other words, the exhibition is activism. v
Through 10/9, Mon-Sat 10 AM-5 PM, Sun noon-5 PM Museum of Contemporary Photography 600 S. Michigan 312-663-5554mocp.org Free
