Green Land Blue Water, A Field Guide
Dublin Core
Title
Green Land Blue Water, A Field Guide
Subject
Landscape
Description
I am interested in the history and context of depictions of landscape and nature, whether pastoral or sublime, and aim to question what such depictions (in my case, photographic) can become–given the reality of melting ice, rising seas, growing intensity of storms and floods, all caused by the warming of our planet.
The primary location chosen for this project is Greenland, which contains a multitude of examples of complications in addressing climate change. There is the overpowering presence of the shrinking of the ancient ice cap, glaciers melting fresh water into the oceans, the history of colonialism and the indigenous experience of climate change. There is also a desire to create a tourist destination that, paradoxically, will advance progression of the ice melt, yet will provide much needed economic opportunities and advancement of infrastructure. In addition, there is worldwide government and corporate interest into mining Greenland’s rich trove of resources and minerals, which will become more accessible the faster its ice sheet disappears.
The title of this project refers to a US Cold War missile detection system of radar stations over Greenland and Arctic regions of North America, put in place to protect American cities from nuclear attack. Thule Air Base in the far north is now the US Air Force Space Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Today the base is used for monitoring space for defense purposes. Specifically, it is home to the 21st Space Wing’s network of sensors that provides early missile warning, space surveillance and control.
The term "Distant Early Warning Line", besides referring directly to the US military presence, is evocative of the fact that Greenland is perhaps the most important region in the world right now in terms of teaching us about climate change, the cost of exploitation of land itself, and asking the question of who is paying attention and why .
The primary location chosen for this project is Greenland, which contains a multitude of examples of complications in addressing climate change. There is the overpowering presence of the shrinking of the ancient ice cap, glaciers melting fresh water into the oceans, the history of colonialism and the indigenous experience of climate change. There is also a desire to create a tourist destination that, paradoxically, will advance progression of the ice melt, yet will provide much needed economic opportunities and advancement of infrastructure. In addition, there is worldwide government and corporate interest into mining Greenland’s rich trove of resources and minerals, which will become more accessible the faster its ice sheet disappears.
The title of this project refers to a US Cold War missile detection system of radar stations over Greenland and Arctic regions of North America, put in place to protect American cities from nuclear attack. Thule Air Base in the far north is now the US Air Force Space Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Today the base is used for monitoring space for defense purposes. Specifically, it is home to the 21st Space Wing’s network of sensors that provides early missile warning, space surveillance and control.
The term "Distant Early Warning Line", besides referring directly to the US military presence, is evocative of the fact that Greenland is perhaps the most important region in the world right now in terms of teaching us about climate change, the cost of exploitation of land itself, and asking the question of who is paying attention and why .
Creator
Victoria Crayhon
Publisher
Victoria Crayhon
Date
2023
Format
Soft cover, (no image on front or back of cover), color matte paper, perfect bound
Photobook Item Type Metadata
Dimensions
15 x 23 cm
Number of Pages
72
Number of images
38
Edition Size
open
Place of Publication
Providence RI, USA
Designer
Victoria Crayhon
Editor
Victoria Crayhon
Printer
BLURB.COM
ISBN
N/A
URL Link to project
https://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/10085546/155088665c030ce71de383fd39d12ad05054215b
Where to buy
https://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/10085546/155088665c030ce71de383fd39d12ad05054215b
Collection
Citation
Anonymous, “Green Land Blue Water, A Field Guide,” Photobook Cafe Photobook Collection, accessed August 30, 2026, https://photobookcafe-archive.co.uk/items/show/2371.