2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
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print this pageRegarding Land - The Impact of Ecological Ruin in the Inland Empire
C. Matthew Luther
Saturday, November 08 - 11:20AM to 11:40AM
Across the Inland Empire, Superfund and Brownfield sites mark a complex and often unseen environmental history. Former mines, pyrotechnic storage facilities, contaminated groundwater zones, and even a manmade saline sea represent only a few examples of lands burdened by industrial residue. While some of these areas undergo remediation and eventual reuse, others remain unsafe for decades—quiet reminders of the lasting impact of human activity on the landscape.
Artist and researcher C. Matthew Luther has spent years visiting and documenting hazardous waste sites throughout the United States, including numerous locations in the Midwest. His ongoing project, viewable at CanvasofRuin.com, chronicles these spaces of environmental abandonment. Luther's photographs capture the eerie stillness and lingering despair within these post-industrial environments—places where human presence has vanished, leaving behind toxic traces such as PCBs and heavy metals.
Motivated by both artistic inquiry and personal experience with environmentally linked illness, Luther investigates the relationship between contamination, geography, and memory. His presentation will explore the mapping of Superfund and contaminated sites across the Inland Empire, integrating research, photographic documentation, and related creative works.
speaker
C. Matthew Luther
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