Lom Maledivy (2024) is a former kaolin quarry near Nepomyšle in the Podbořan region, where a beautiful lake was created, which is nicknamed the Czech Maldives. This nickname was created due to the white sand and the breathtaking blue colour of the water, which are reminiscent of the beaches and the sea in the Maldives. Kaolin is a cosmetic ingredient and is safe for the skin, so locals have repurposed the site as a beach for swimming and sun bathing. © Liz Miller Kovacs

Rare Earth

Liz Miller Kovacs

2024 — Czech Republic, Spain, Azerbaijan, USA, Java, Cyprus, Greece, Turkmenistan, Arctic and more

About this series

What will future cultures think of the scarred earth we leave behind? Commenced in 2020, Rare Earth is a long-term photographic series documenting diverse landscapes drastically altered by mining and other extractive processes. Recording and witnessing these sites in real life helps me address my anxiety about the prospect of living in an uninhabitable future.
With this ongoing project, I aim to capture the unearthly environments that have been excavated, depleted, and polluted by industries fuelling our contemporary appetites. These spaces are not easily accessible; reaching them requires extensive research, planning, and difficult travel. The concentrations of minerals and acid buildup from mining and quarrying result in unique visuals and unusual chemical elements that I document in my work.
Another essential aspect is to reframe the landscape and the notion of the sublime from a female perspective. ‘Rare Earth,’ is a visual archive of humankind’s insatiable appetite for consumption, which poses the question: how can we sustain it? The 4 years I have spent so far on this project have also given me insight into my family history as immigrant miners.

Embalse de Gossán (2023) was captured on the marshy shores of the reservoir containing the wastewater of Rio Tinto's copper mining wastewater, in Huelva, Spain. The surreal landscape here is the result of decades of mineral buildup. The reservoir is a giant marsh of red sludge that spans several square kilometres. Birds and other wildlife avoid the shores, yet several resilient species of vegetation manage to survive here despite the highly acidic soil and groundwater. © Liz Miller Kovacs
Shikhov Beach (2022) is a well-known swimming spot situated in the southwest of Baku, Azerbaijan. The Soviet Union had constructed a vast network of offshore oil rigs during their occupation of Azerbaijan, many of which could be seen from the shore. While I was present there, the equipment was being disassembled from the abandoned oil rig that casts a shadow over the sea. Even though the water in this area is polluted due to decades of offshore oil extraction, the beach is still a popular destination for swimming and sunbathing. In recent years, luxurious waterfront clubs and resorts have been built on the coast nearby. © Liz Miller Kovacs
Saltus (2020) was photographed in the Mojave Desert at the National Chloride Company's sodium chloride extraction ponds. One of many evaporation ponds carved into the desert landscape, the canal's water has an eerie glow, appearing possibly radioactive, its turquoise colour stands out in stark contrast to the barren surroundings. The setting of the canals in the coarse landscape reminds me of a science-fiction film set or extra-terrestrial mining operation. © Liz Miller Kovacs
Pumpjack Pasture (2022) captures a herd of sheep on a private farm grazing in the shadow of an active oil rig. Oil companies use pumpjacks to mechanically extract oil from deeper wells when the pressure inside a well is not sufficient to force oil to the surface. Farmers and other land owners lease their land to oil companies to generate income, despite the potential health hazards associated with living in close vicinity to oil production. A second working oil well was visible alongside vegetable crops and a residential dwelling on the same property. Images of the pumpjack have become iconic and are often used as symbols of the oil and gas industry.This particular oil well is part of the extensive network of Chevron oilfields near Bakersfield, California. © Liz Miller Kovacs
Aggeria Mine (2022) was photographed on location at one of the largest active bentonite mines in the world, the Aggeria surface mine on the island of Milos, Greece. The patterns and multicoloured soil in this location are due to the high mineral content. The mine is open seven days a week from dawn until dusk, and miners were constantly working nearby while I was photographing the site. Trucks transport the extracted material to the processing plant located at a nearby coastal port. Besides its industrial use as a drilling lubricant, bentonite is a common ingredient in skincare products and toothpaste. © Liz Miller Kovacs
Geamăna Steeple (2021) was photographed on the muddy shores Lake Geamăna in Romania. The valley has been gradually flooded by runoff of the Roșia Poieni copper mine since the 1990's. This church steeple is the last reminders of the community that previously thrived here for centuries. I spent several days exploring and documenting Geamăna flooded village, where the lake continues to expand due to the continuous supply of acidic, cyanide-laced runoff from the mine. © Liz Miller Kovacs
Lost City (2024) is a limestone mine that could be mistaken for the archaeological ruins of a lost city outside of Surabaya in East Java. There are several limestone quarries in the region, some of which have been converted into leisure destinations. Despite its fantastic appearance, this is an active quarry that extracts stone 6 days a week. It has not been altered for tourism and is relatively unknown. I found this location after being denied access to a more popular quarry nearby. I decided to explore the topography map and found this amazing place, which reminded me of a tropical version of the amphitheatre at the ruins of Ephesus in Türkiye. Although less harmful to the environment than many extraction industries, limestone mining does reduce biodiversity and pollute water supplies. © Liz Miller Kovacs
Blood Lake (2023) is a mining lake in Mitsero, in the Nicosia district of Cyprus. This site is an abandoned iron, gold, and copper mine that ceased operation in 1967. At this point animal life surrounding the lake is no longer able to survive due to the mine’s toxicity, and the water is tinted red due to the high acidity leeching minerals, and abnormally high concentration of chemicals. A tragic history of mining accidents and violence surrounds the lake. Although not officially open to the public, I encountered other curious visitors at the abandoned mining site during the days I was photographing there. © Liz Miller Kovacs
Deep Burn (2023) was photographed at the Darvaza Gas Crater, in Turkmenistan–one of the worlds most reclusive nations. After years of planning, I traveled hundreds of kilometres in a 4WD through the Karakum desert to the location, which is known as the Gates of Hell, hours away from the nearest city. The site was drilled by Soviet engineers in 1971 as a natural gas well, but collapsed, forcing the engineers to light the crater on fire to prevent poisonous gases from escaping. Scientists claim that the fire will persist for decades to come. © Liz Miller Kovacs
Gruve 7 Containers (2024) was photographed outside of the Store Norske Mine 7, the last operating coal mine in Svalbard. In the Arctic there are no waste facilities for large equipment, so relics like these abandoned shipping containers are scattered about the island like monuments to its mining history. They will remain intact for hundreds of years due to the arctic climate. © Liz Miller Kovacs
Monte Kali Reflection (2022) captures the giant Potash tailings mountain and its reflection in the Werra River. The vast expanses of flat terrain in this part of Germany are punctuated solely by colossal mounds of mining waste, visible from afar. In this image, industrial by- products replace the sublime Alps often found in Romantic paintings, inviting viewers to take a closer look. Monte Kali and neighbouring tailings mounds have become popular tourist attractions in recent years. © Liz Miller Kovacs

Photographer: Liz Miller Kovacs
Nationality: United Sates
Based in: Berlin, Germany
Website: www.miller-kovacs.art
Instagram: @miller.kovacs

Liz Miller Kovacs is a California-born photographer and interdisciplinary artist based in Berlin. Her interest in photography began as a teenager with a second-hand 35mm camera, but it has only become her primary artistic medium in the last decade. Her grandfather and uncle were immigrant coal miners who died from occupational health problems when she was young, and this sparked her curiosity about their lives and led to her interest in mining. Since 2020, Liz has focused on studying, exploring, and documenting remote landscapes altered by extraction industries. Her practice, which utilizes both analog and digital photography, encompasses research, documentation and staged conceptual work.
Her work was selected for Earth Photo 2024, awarded Foto Slovo’s Gold Medal for Environmental and Climate Issues, shortlisted as ‘Highly Commended’ by Belfast Photo Festival 2024 and exhibited at Kranj Foto Fest 2023. She was also longlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize 2024. Her videos have been screened at Untitled Art Fair Special Projects, Millennium Film Journal, Alicante Video Art Festival, Maiden L.A., S.F. Photo Fairs and Fotogenia (forthcoming). In 2023, she received a cultural exchange grant from the Berlin Senate for Culture and Community. In 2024, she was awarded a Culture Moves Europe grant. Her work has been recently reviewed in Musée, Aesthetica, Contemporary Art Review LA, and The L.A. Weekly.