APR 11, 2015 Florencia Mazza Ramsay and The Systems Ecology Lab at The University of Texas at El Paso launches Kickstarter campaign promoting photographic journey documenting the research activities of 2015 field season in Barrow, AK.
EL PASO, TEXAS—Argentine photographer, Florencia Mazza Ramsay has launched a Kickstarter campaign to introduce her new photo essay: Barrow, Alaska: A Photographic Journey into Arctic Research and Culture. The project will focus on the research of the Systems Ecology Lab (SEL) from the University of Texas at El Paso, native culture and climate change in Barrow, Alaska. Florencia will be the first artist to join the ranks of Biologists, Environmental Scientists, Engineers and Computer Scientists during their 2015 field season in one of most heavily studied and northernmost regions in the United States.
Rising temperatures, shrinking Summer sea ice and thawing permafrost are not only some of the symptoms suggesting Arctic regions like Barrow are being hit the hardest by climate change but may also serve as accelerators of global climate change. During her three month field season, Florencia plans on creating a portrait of the countless researchers, scientists and technicians from various universities and organizations and the how the work they do studying these climate impacts carries global implications. Maximizing the broader impacts of this project, Florencia will be contributing both her artistic and technical photography to the Systems Ecology Lab archive. In addition to use in scientific publications, online mapping applications and general outreach, the images and video resulting from this experience will be turned into a multidisciplinary exhibition (photo, video and mapping installations) to be placed at The University of Texas at El Paso. She will also be a contributor to Climate Prisms: an interactive and self-guided exhibition that will provide users with insights into the science and implications of climate change headed by Francesca Samsel from the University of Texas at Austin and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The essay is also set include a profile of the native Inupiat people, their culture and their hopes for the future. The telling of their stories, rituals and their interactions with this extreme landscape will help in the understating of the size and depth of climate issues.
“This is a new line of work for me. The multiple educational implications involved with this theme are the most exciting portion of it. Spreading the message of science as something non-static, that involves risks and lots of hard work make this all worth it. I don’t come from a science background, but I think what these men and women are doing is so rad and deserves more recognition.” – Florencia Mazza Ramsay
For more information on Florencia’s Kickstarter campaign, visit: www.kickstarter.com
About Florencia Mazza Ramsay: Photographer and retoucher whose editorial credits include Playboy Spain, Mercedes-Benz (Argentina) and Porsche (Argentina), and Mustique Latin America. Armed with a professional attitude and strong work ethic, Florencia is sure to make her mark in the United States. Her work is proven to captivate the hearts and minds of not only the most discerning critics, but the general public, as well. For more, visit florenciamazza.com.
About the Systems Ecology Laboratory at UTEP: The Systems Ecology Laboratory (SEL) is focused on understanding the biocomplexity associated with environmental change and plant and ecosystem structure and function in extreme environments – namely Arctic tundra and the Chihuahuan Desert. They use a variety of plant ecological and physiological methods in combination with aerial and satellite remote sensing and Geographic Information systems (GIS) to examine and model changes in plant and ecosystem structure and function over a range of spatial and temporal scales. The SEL is also committed to maintaining long term environmental observations and improving the capacity for cross disciplinary and international cooperation in monitoring the impacts of environmental change. To facilitate the latter they are partnered to several projects described below that are developing novel internet based portal, mapping and information management systems that facilitate access to distributed information systems. For more information, please visit academics.utep.edu.
About Climate Prisms: Climate Prisms is the Bradbury’s museum latest addition to their environment exhibit. The exhibition intends to reinvent the way the public processes climate change data. Through a deep, multioption interface, “Climate Prisms” will use art, poetry, images, videos, and scientific presentations that will enable users to follow threads they choose leading them toward their own selfconstructed understanding and action plan. For more, visit www.lanl.gov, www.francescasamsel.com
Contacts
Florencia Mazza Ramsay
florenciamazza@florenciamazza.com
www.florenciamazza.com
