“Death Alley” is semi-abstract photographic distillation of how surfing is connected to environmental racism through the toxic manufacturing of Neoprene, the base material for wetsuits.
The images depict Denka Performance Elastomers facility near Reserve, Louisiana, the sole US producer of chloroprene rubber (Neoprene), the surrounding community and oneiric representations of surfing.
Exploring “environmental racism”, the work focuses on the impact of this plant on the local community who suffer the highest risk and rate of cancer in the US due to extreme emission levels of chloroprene.
Read more about Lewis Arnold at https://lewisarnold.photo
Photographer
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![Self-published Showcase: Death Alley by Lewis Arnold — Impressions Gallery]()
Lewis Arnold
I am an award-winning independent creative practitioner explore evolving surf culture and its’ relevance in the wider world through photography and film. My practice interrogates the environmental responsibility of surfing and the clash of surfing’s counterculture roots with commercial and corporate interests relevant today. I experiment with representation and understanding to build an aesthetic that engages and asks questions of the viewer. Alongside my work, in 2020 I completed the MA Creative Practice at Leeds Arts University underpinning the theory, creativity and depth of my surfing-related imagery as art.
Death Alley Photobook by Lewis Arnold
1 minute 12 seconds
Created by Lewis Arnold
