2026 SPE Annual Conference: Catalyst for Exchange
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print this pageThe Sun Sets Midafternoon: Climate Grief through the Lens of Wildfire
Jessica Hays
Saturday, March 21 - 3:30PM to 4:30PM
Macon
Integrating photographs, video, and text, The Sun Sets Midafternoon examines the immediate aftermath of megafires on surrounding communities, interweaving narratives of ecological devastation, collective trauma, and climate grief. Begun after experiencing the devastation of a wildfire in my hometown, this work explores solastalgia, which describes emotional and existential distress caused by negative environmental change. Climate change poses the greatest public health threat of our century. In addition to the immediately measurable health related impacts of climate change—lowered air quality, clean water shortages, heat illnesses, and so on— much of this can be attributed to the ways in which we will lose a sense of security, a place that feel like home, and the psychological impacts of this increased instability.
I will describe the trajectory of the work from an original compulsion to bear witness to wildfires, through three more fire seasons, integrating text, working with video, and designing and binding two iterations of book maquettes. Then, I will discuss the process of working with a publisher to create a trade-edition book, and how the work shifted from maquette to finalized book. In exhibitions, I have worked with organizations to create site specific installations prioritizing opportunities for immersion and inviting viewers to engage with both text and image. The book will be recently published in late 2025 with Fall Line Press, and I would like to follow up my presentation with a book signing. The work is being exhibited in Atlanta during the conference as well, and we are interested in collaborating on an event/opening.
The Sun Sets Midafternoon addresses timely issues—climate change, grief, and trauma—through a personal lens. This work offers an opportunity to consider the immediate and ongoing impacts of climate change and the ways in which text and video can elevate and inform photographic image making.
speaker
Jessica Hays 26
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