Weyerhauser Sorting Yard Along the Chehalis River, Cosmopolis, Washington, from the series SawDust Mountain

Date2007

Label TextIn the tradition of documentary photography, Johnson turns his eye toward Northwest communities and industries, notably fishing and timber, to reveal the complexities and conflicts over jobs and natural resources. This sorting yard assembled logs to turn into pulp—destined to become everything from toothbrush handles to cigarette filters to photographic paper—until its closure from corporate restructuring. Pulp mills, often located in places where forest products have offered employment over generations, negatively impact waterways. Johnson asks us to consider the ways in which nature, place, and identity are interconnected. His images offer a counterpoint to nature uncomplicated by human impact as in the work, for example, of Ansel Adams.

Object number2009.7.1

ProvenanceThe artist

Photo CreditPhoto: Courtesy of the artist

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Our Blue Planet: Global Visions of Water, Mar. 18 - May 30, 2022. Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art and Commerce, July 27 2024–January 12, 2025.Published ReferencesGallagher, Tess, with poem by David Guterson, "Sawdust Mountain", Aperture, publication date: May 2009

Credit LineGift of Clinton T. Willour in honor of Marisa C. Sánchez and gift of G. Gibson Gallery

Dimensions24 x 30 in. (61 x 76.2 cm)

MediumArchival pigment print