Heavy Water, 2018
A biologist working for the Savannah River Site delivers a lecture about wild dogs whose mythic relationship to the protected three-hundred square-mile nuclear weapon facility is embellished to justify its displacement of local residents, and obscure the violence sustained by its activities. The video’s two channels enact a confluence between two epic timelines: the deep history of the Carolina dogs, who are speculated to descend from the nation’s first canines, and the precarious future imperiled by nuclear weapons programs and the production of radioactive waste.
director: Erin Johnson
director of photography: Jeffrey Griecci
editors: Matt Nelson + Erin Johnson
sound: Matt Nelson
Commissioned by Rachel Reese, Jepson Center, Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA
Installation view of Heavy Water, Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA, 2018
Installation view of Heavy Water, Telfair Museums, Savannah, GA, 2018