From the start of what would eventually become Water Hog, I didn’t fully know the scope of my pursuit. On a frigid night in late 2019, out aimlessly wandering with friends we saw steam rising in the distance. We curiously approached. Seemingly we had struck gold, the ponds lights allowed the steam to dance off of them brilliantly. However the resulting image was too dark, and disappointing. Years later, and a couple of states west I was creating a project that would be the length of a semester and investigate a single idea.

That idea outgrew itself quickly, and new research offered a better understanding of the U.S’s water policy. I pivoted in what I was photographing and looking at. Some sites were revisited and new ones investigated. Although I felt that I was in unfamiliar territory again, these divergences felt good.

When researching the commercialization of these waterways and the industries which are dominating them today, I was unsure how to visually represent what I was reading.
Policy regarding these places is written with the intention to control and profit off of it. However the laws written seldom took any interest to address the ecosystems or peoples lives they were disrupting. In most cases large industry and government agencies would dump or dredge first and address the issues caused by it later.

Growing up in the Midwest, a point of pride seemed to be the great lakes which I swam in often. The illusion of an unaltered landscape is still there for some however. The many reservoirs in the region, interestingly enough, have become places of mass tourism.

These places look visually the same as they have my entire life. However learning that what I consider “natural” is a man altered landscape changes how I look at the places I inhabit.

May 2024.

-MM