Melting Discomfort - Jackson Messick
Photography
12 photographs in a photo book
Capturing the uncomfortable and devastating reality of climate change, the photo book Melting Discomfort amplifies the foreseeing dangers our planet faces through this photographic journey.
This project exemplifies Jackson's digital story-making techniques as he displays unique photographs of climate change in Colorado. He created a photo book containing various images about global warming in the Boulder area. He wanted to mix portrait photographs with images of Boulder to combine human life and the environment that we live in. Jackson wants people to be shocked, uncomfortable, and overwhelmed when they see how poorly global warming affects us. He documented what makes people feel uncanny, displaying people sledding on dirt hills because it's too hot to snow. He also relates how climate change makes people’s favorite activities impossible to do and what makes people anxious. There are pictures of people in the shower and no water coming out, and he immersed his subjects where the fires struck in Boulder. He took pictures of his subject holding a melting popsicle to show how heat initiates a melting sensation. He also includes quotes and statistics throughout the book to exemplify the significance of each image. This project targets people living in the Boulder area. Jackson wants to raise awareness about climate change in Colorado. We only have one home in this vast universe, so we must ensure our survival by enhancing our daily habits to aid our planet.