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InspirationPhotography

Frontcountry by Lucas Foglia documents people living in the midst of a modern mining boom

Between 2006 and 2013, photographer Lucas Foglia travelled throughout rural Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Wyoming, some of the least populated regions in the United States.

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Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist and via the Gallery

Via Creative Boom submission. All images courtesy of the artist and via the Gallery

Frontcountry is a photographic account of people living in the midst of a mining boom that is transforming the modern American West. Foglia's work is driven by a desire to tell stories, it conveys an understanding of the land as a resource and an inquisitiveness as to how people make a living from it. The images feel rooted in the romance of the American landscape, yet his work has a signature that always refers back to its inhabitants, reflecting the artist's personable nature and patient observation. His practice continues in the line of previous American social documentary photographers whose work, in book and print form, is intended as a prolonged and measured examination of a theme.

"This little town has nothing. It’s dying on the vine. But when the company opens a mine here, it’ll bring jobs and make everything bigger and better. There are people who want that boost to the community. I’m not one of them. The mine will ruin this mountain and you’ll never find land this beautiful anywhere else."Randy Stowell, Big Springs Ranch, Oasis, Nevada 2012.

His work is exhibiting at the Michael Hoppen Gallery until 10th May 2014.

Young woman holding a farming tool over her shoulder in a rural mountain valley setting
Shirtless man wearing a cowboy hat runs through deep snow towards a wooden cabin in a remote winter landscape
A metal pipe discharges polluted water into a stream surrounded by mineral-stained rocks in a mining area
Yellow industrial vehicles operate on vast piles of black coal beneath a concrete tower in a mining operation, documenting the extraction boom transforming the American West
Children play American football on a field with snow-capped mountains in the background, illustrating community life in rural America during the mining boom era
Three cowboys at a ranch corral in the American West, with one man adjusting his hat while standing on a fence, another seated nearby, and mountains visible in the distance
Man balancing horizontally on a wooden pole in an arid landscape with mountains and fencing in the background
Man in green jacket bending over a barbell loaded with weight plates inside a metal-framed greenhouse structure filled with various equipment and tools
Wood-panelled office interior with mounted deer heads, framed photograph of crop rows, clock, and two green upholstered chairs at a wooden table
Woman in jeans and purple shirt doing a backbend on grass in front of rural buildings under clear blue sky
Rodeo arena with spectators in bleachers, dust, mountains and utility poles visible at sunset in rural American West
A figure stands alone on a dirt road stretching across vast, arid scrubland under a partly cloudy sky, with mountains visible on the horizon
Two women stand with folded arms beside striped fabric samples displayed against a wooden backdrop with geometric patterns
Three men in cowboy hats stand in shadow, two facing away wearing brown jackets and one in a denim shirt looking towards the camera
Man in white shirt seated at desk surrounded by stacks of papers and documents in wooden shelving unit
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