a. Issue One: David Schalliol.

The first collection of five images was specifically photographed for the inaugural issue of metroblossom.

Each frame documents the growth of plant life in human created and dominated environments. The ground in which they grow is of different material, but each finds life against the odds. Through slag and tile, breakwaters and revetments, nonhuman actors slowly rework the city.

Continuing with the same theme, but part of a separate project, the two photographs below are from the site of the former United States Steel South Works in Chicago, Illinois. The panoramic photographs illustrate two different views of the northern ore yard, which is actually composed of three distinct compartments and four major walls. The northernmost bin is the smallest, while the bins get larger as they move south. In stark contrast to the nearly structure-less remainder of the site, the tallest ore walls are 45 feet high concrete structures that are a half-mile long. Because the cost of removing the walls has been estimated to be $13 million, they still stand. USS, the city, and others are working on a way to integrate them into development plans.

A much larger exploration of the site is under way. As such, future issues will provide further documentation of the site.

(A previous collaborative sketch of an industrial site, the Pittsburgh Glass Factory in Mt. Vernon Ohio, by Jen and David Schalliol, is located here.)

Bio
David Schalliol is founder of metroblossom and a graduate student in sociology at the University of Chicago. His broad interests are united by concerns for social justice and greater understanding of the human and nonhuman condition. As a photographer, he is currently working on a number of projects, including site-specific urban landscape studies and support for Dolan Geiman's chimney project. Current research topics include the meaning and politics of place in the urban environment, social stratification and education, and dilemmas of human and nonhuman interaction. As a means to these ends, David currently works at the Consortium on Chicago School Research.

A portion of David's research on the former United States Steel South Works was on exhibition from February 13-29 at the 1926 Exhibition Studies Space in Chicago, Illinois, as part of the
Inordinate Coordinates show.