JEFF LOVETT

(917) 714-6973

jeff@jefovett.netwww.jefovett.net

BLACK SEAM

Sedimentation,extraction, riches,and devastation inthe coal elds of Appalachia.The presence of coal inuences every artifact andexperience of Appalachia. My work is an attempt tounmask the elusive relationship we have with coalthrough a dialectical exploration of materials, recordsand sites.Historically coal from Appalachia powered theAmerican industrial revolution and created miningtowns that were extremely prosperous. These towns,like the industries that facilitated their growth, werenot meant to last. The powerful and transient impactof coal is apparent in the crumbling, once decadent,mining towns that sprung from the coal elds of Appalachia and in the people who remain there.The materiality of coal is rarely engaged rst hand butthe presence of these prehistoric solar batteries can befelt in nearly every experience.For those living outside of dying coal towns,remembering coal and their direct relationship toit can be difcult. When the bituminous coal foundin Appalachia is burned, it releases solar energycollected 330 million years ago by monumental forests.Charging a cellphone or enjoying the warm glow of anincandescent lamp is facilitated by the biological laborput forth in the Carboniferous period.To understand the impact that coal has and willhave on our society we must understand the wayit has shaped our collective past. Like thecommunities, geologies and histories foundin the coal elds of Appalachia, the worksin this exhibition accrue meaningthrough their relationshipswith one another.

EXHIBITION GUIDEEXHIBITION SCHEDULE

Reception: Tuesday, May 10

, 2011 7 - 9

Exhibition: May 10

through May 21

, 2011Location: Trisolini Gallery, Athens Ohio.Hours:

Monday - Saturday 10

- 4

Thursdays 10

- 8