DEJA ZING: Canary in the Coal Mine
Brandon Ballengee is an artist, biologist, and environmental activist working out of New York City whose interest is in communities both human and non-human affected by climate change and other ecological impacts of the Anthropocene. His project in issue #8, “The Atomic Frog Series,” are a series of drawings based on species of amphibians indigenous to nuclear reactors or nuclear waste sites within the United States. Since 1996, a central area of concern in his scientific research has been the occurrence of developmental deformities and population declines among amphibians. On the page, the project takes form as drawings of different species of frogs done in the manner of scientific illustration, which include text with their scientific names, locations ranging from New York state to Tennessee to Florida, and a set of alphanumerics which I’ve been unable to determine the meaning of. Pretty straightforward, but there’s something unusual happening. Each frog is preying upon a human being—half a body protruding from their mouths, or crushed beneath their forefeet. Apparently the radiation has had the effect of mutating these creatures into Godzilla-size proportions. In one fell swoop, the tables are turned and the food chain is upended. Frog legs are on the menu no more. Perhaps this gesture is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it does introduce the very real idea of the Anthropocene—the epoch in which human activities began to have a significant global impact on Earth’s geology and ecosystems. The project suggest a karmic comeuppance for human beings as a result of their introducing nuclear radiation to an ecosystem in which these animals lived. Despite the general consensus that human technology is progressive and beneficial, there are often unforeseen, and sometimes disastrous, consequences. In this case, it’s a direct impact upon human beings in predation by gigantic frogs. But typically the brunt of the impact is felt by non-human organisms and ecosystems. Amphibians are often considered to be the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to indicators of pollution’s effect on the environment. With “The Atomic Frog Series,” Brandon Ballengee raises a red flag on negative consequences of nuclear development.
View the rest of the project here.
—Brandon Johnson