Photography and Environmental Activism

This publication maps out key moments in the history of environmentalist photography, while also examining contemporary examples of artistic practice.

Historically, photography has acted as a technology for documenting the industrial transformation of the world around us; usually to benefit the interests of capitalist markets. An alternative photographic tradition exists, however, in which the indexical image is used ''evidentially'' to protest against incidents of industrial pollution. By providing a definition of environmental activism in photographic praxis, and identifying influential practitioners, this publication demonstrates that photography plays a vital role in the struggle against environmental despoliation.

This book will be of interest to scholars in photography, art and visual culture, environmental humanities, and the history of photography.