Artist Statement: This is a diorama that will be finished, and photographed again and turned into a poster. The piece is a depiction of the destruction caused by slag run-off from mountaintop removal. The boy intended to go fishing in his favorite stream. But mountaintop removal has not only decimated the landscape, it has directly impacted his dream of catching fish. There are dead fish around the slag heap that collected in the stream. 

It's important to grasp the extent to which mountaintop removal and extraction of coal in general has impacted the region. An example of an individual finding a mess and only dead fish is a way to personalize the issue and realize that something needs to change.