Time(s) - 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Location
Atlanta Photography Group
Please join us at the APG Gallery in-person and via Zoom on October 5, 2024, 2:00-3:30pm for a presentation by artist Benjamin Dimmitt about his book An Unflinching Look: Elegy for Wetlands.
An Unflinching Look is an examination of a unique North American ecosystem in decline, investigated through eighty-five duotone photographs, scientific analysis, and critical interpretation. The project’s focus is the area of the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge on Florida’s Gulf Coast and the history and fate of its wetlands.
Dimmitt began photographing in the salt-damaged sawgrass savannas and spring creeks there as a way of examining and reckoning with the ecosystem loss and of understanding what was becoming of his native Florida. He narrowed his focus to a small, remote area that he knows well and loves. Dimmitt’s intention in bearing witness to this loss has been to portray the ruined landscape with respect, nuance, and beauty. To document the progress of the saltwater intrusion, Dimmitt has rephotographed landscapes that he first photographed more than forty years ago. His photographs reveal the impact of several factors that are causing the loss of an entire ecosystem: rising sea levels caused by global warming, excessive pumping from the underground aquifer, and the contamination of limited natural resources.
Benjamin Dimmitt
Benjamin was born and raised on the Gulf Coast of Florida. When he was given a camera as a boy, his first subjects were the woods and wetlands near his home.
He studied photography at Eckerd College, Santa Fe Photographic Workshops and the International Center of Photography in New York City. Benjamin later held an adjunct professor position at I.C.P. from 2001-2013 and taught most recently at Penland School of Craft near his home in Asheville, NC.
His photographs have been exhibited in museums, galleries and festivals internationally and are held in multiple major museums and private collections.
Benjamin first visited and photographed the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge in 1977. The wetlands there soon became a favorite subject. He began his project documenting the impact of climate change and rising seas at the Chassahowitzka in 2014.
RSVP Required
Saturday, October 5, 2024
2:00pm-3:30pm ET
Both In-Person at the APG Gallery at Ansley Mall
And Virtually via Zoom
