#chipthomas

Work by Chip Thomas for the Painted Desert Project. A portrait of Harvey Speck, age 87, former Uranium miner at the Oljato Moonlight Mine. Cameron, AZ.

Dr. Thomas began working in a small community in Northeast Arizona in the late 80s. Passionate about black and white documentary photography he soon built his own darkroom and as he spent time with people in their homes and family camps he quickly discovered a strong relationship between art and medicine. Thomas soon came to call these people “friends.” Also drawn to street art and graffiti, Thomas was increasingly disinterested in showing his work in galleries, isolated from the people being photographed, and his natural evolution led to public photographic interventions across the Southwest. In late 2017 Thomas added to his powerful series of social justice statements with this installation on E 5th St in Reno, Nevada.  @jetsonorama/

‘JC and Gracie’ Work by Chip Thomas for the Painted Desert Project. Cameron, AZ. Text on the artwork reads: “The Navajo Nation encompasses more than 27,000 square miles across three states – New Mexico, Utah + Arizona – and is the largest home for indigenous people in the U.S. From 1944 to 1986 hundreds of uranium and milling operations extracted an estimated 400 million tons of uranium ore from Diné (Navajo) lands. These mining + processing operations have left a legacy of potential exposures to uranium waste from abandoned mines/mills, homes and other structures built with mining waste which impacts the drinking water, livestock + humans.” “As a heavy metal, uranium primarily damages the kidneys + urinary system. While there have been many studies of environmental + occupational exposure to uranium and associated renal effects in adults, there have been very few studies of other adverse health effects. In 2010 the University of New Mexico partnered with the Navajo Area Indian Health Service and Navajo Division of Health to evaluate the association between environmental contaminants + reproductive birth outcomes.” “This investigation is called the Navajo Birth Cohort Study and will follow children for 7 years from birth to early childhood. Chemical exposure, stress, sleep, diet + their effects on the children’s physical, cognitive + emotional development will be studied.” “JC with her younger sister, Gracie (who is a NBCS participant).” Note: Efforts to mine uranium adjacent to the Grand Canyon have accelerated during the Trump administration.

HOPE TRAUMA IN A POISONED LAND - great video about my friend Dr. Chip Thomas's work

The work of @jetsonorama the founder and curator of #ThePaintedDesertProject! #jetsonorama #DrChipThomas #ChipThomas (at Navajo, Arizona)