Cloud Factory: A Portrait of the Calumet Region is an exploration into the medium of documentary. Through the collection and assembly of found and archived photos, footage, objects, and recorded interviews, I am painting a portrait of a place not often pictured: my home, the Calumet Region, affectionately nicknamed The Region. Once one of North America's most biodiverse regions, The Region encapsulates the Southeast and East sides of Chicago and much of Northwest Indiana. Some of the world's largest steel and oil facilities are operated out of Region residents' backyards, as it is one of the densest industrial sectors in the country. The events and realities of industry, stories of blue-collar experience, are often told by an employer, politician, or corporate office. Cloud Factory seeks to tell these stories straight from the source through the words of workers and the impacted neighbors of industry. Residents, organizers, and blue collar workers are speaking their own truths, documented through video testimonials, and physically represented through a recreated blue-collar living space. This installation highlights how the climate crisis, often spoken about in future tense, has already begun to mount a toll in places like the Calumet Region.
Feel free to enter.
