In 2016, those who determine such things officially agreed the Earth had entered a new Epoch in its evolutionary age. Termed the Anthropocene, it is defined by significant human-induced changes to land, oceans, and air. This new era is the foundation for my work, which explores repercussions from our rapidly expanding world need for Agriculture, Energy, Mining and Water - how it impacts our planet and ultimately us.

Traveling through the West for decades, I’ve increasingly witnessed landscapes altered by human activity. Tailing piles from mines have grown immense, water projects drain habitats, and wind and solar farms spread across formerly pristine spaces. Initially, I focused on capturing the beauty of the natural landscape. However, as I traveled and photographed over the years, my images often included human alterations, commanding attention in unsettling ways. These elements began to reveal a deeper connection between humans and nature, though I struggled to define it.

A road trip in 2016 through the Palouse region of southeast Washington, brought clarity. Terraformed and overlaid by commerce for more than 100 years, it’s topography is embellished by pattern and design across its surface - all byproducts of efficient farming required by constraints of the rolling terrain. It seemed a dance - or perhaps a struggle - between human imposed order and natural growth cycles. What was revealed I found compelling – strangely alien but completely human.

“Everything you touch you change. Everything you change changes you.” These words written by Octavia Butler resonated deeply. By allowing human intervention to speak over the landscape itself in my pictures, I envisioned a new landscape, more of its Age, that expresses dilemmas faced when considering exploitation or preservation. This realization connected the conflicts I felt photographing the altered yet still beautiful Palouse.

I began searching out landscapes impacted by human hands throughout the West during my four months on the road each year. I concentrate on the four areas causing documented impacts on the environment mentioned above. Gaining access to some sites was sometimes challenging, but often easier than expected - several sites welcomed me in and showed me around.

- David Gardner