Atmosphere (400ppm)

Charcoal, paper.  30” x 40.” 2016.

In early 2016 NOAA scientists announced that global average concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached over 400 parts per million. This is the highest sustained level of carbon dioxide ever recorded. One of the difficulties in comprehending the state of our climate is visualizing the data that we record. In this series of prints, 400 milligrams of powdered carbon was weighed out and deposited on melting snow. When paper was pressed onto the powder, the water from snowmelt transferred the carbon to the sheet. The atmospheric image of the print is a representation of the atmosphere itself and our limited ability to comprehend our role in the environment.