In partnership with Ursinus students, Adriane Colburn is researching raw materials extracted from the land near Ursinus College. Extractive industries remove local resources—such as coal, oil, iron, and asphalt—from the ground and distribute them around the globe. Colburn is most interested in the environmental and economic impacts of these industries: why these raw materials travel through our local area, where they end up, and how traces of them filter into our atmosphere, communities, and bodies.

The artist will interpret her team’s findings with mapping and data visualization techniques alongside traditional woodworking, drawing, video, and photography. Students will then work on-site with the artist to install the exhibition in the Berman Museum’s Pfeiffer Wing.

About the artist

Adriane Colburn is an artist based in San Francisco and New Jersey. Her recent work, large-scale installations that investigate the complex relationships between human infrastructure, earth systems, technology, and the natural world. A penchant for research and direct experience has led her to participate in scientific expeditions in the Arctic, the Amazon, and at sea.