G. Roland Biermann’s visual vocabulary often includes industrial materials, which offer a compelling minimalist aesthetic while also signaling ecological distress.  In this installation, Biermann uses tires, plastic bottles, and oil barrels sourced from the region, including the Searsport Transfer Station.  Together, these elements—especially tires, a major contributor to microplastics in the ocean—reflect the growing tide of waste affecting the ecosystems of Penobscot Bay and beyond.

Lining the walls are photographic images printed on tin, concrete, and paper, which delve into the impact of industrial processes and consumer appetites on the environment.  In Rheingold, plastic bags float in used engine oil, their seductive sheen belying their insidious effects.  Meanwhile, in snow + concrete, clumps of snow—that ‘white gold’ which many Maine communities depend upon—mysteriously finds its way into concrete parking garages, blurring the boundary between natural and manmade spaces.  In a world of forever chemicals, Biermann invites us to see value not in permanence but evanescence.