Statement
I live in a mining town, where the earth has been dug up and redeposited, forming new topographic features. This image is from a popular location just out of Kalgoorlie, often used as a backdrop for family photos, or a place to cut up tracks in a 4WD. The man-made hills are old tailings from a mine that were treated with a cyanide solution to extract the gold in a process called heap leaching.
Melissa Drummond is a Kalgoorlie-based documentary photographer and artist, with a background in earth science, working at the intersection of mining and the natural world. Her artistic practice often involves seeking out quiet, abandoned and degraded environments, recording the influence and impact of human activity.