Home >> Journal >> EMPIRICAL RESEARCH & EVIDENCE - a collection of unique black & white prints, no editions ever to be released

EMPIRICAL RESEARCH & EVIDENCE - a collection of unique black & white prints, no editions ever to be released

Author: Distil Ennui | Post Date: 25-04-2025

Siberia, a land of powerful rivers, magnificent mountains, depthless crystal pure lakes, vast woodlands, boundless Taiga plains & silent arctic deserts. In 2013, I began the first of many pioneering solo expeditions to work on a project titled ´Oil + Water´, investigating a scientific phenomena called enthalpy of fusion by creating large blocks of nearly frozen crude oil. Working in isolation along the Yenisei River, I meticulously entombed these oil blocks within expansive ossuaries of frozen river water, a process demanding extreme precision and resilience in temperatures plunging well below minus 40 degrees Celsius the temperature at which the organic compounds found within crude oil begin to solidify.  The project was shortlisted for the environmental photographer of the year award in 2015.
 

 

Over the subsequent decade, my relentless commitment to the process took me to a range of diverse, remote locations across Siberia, rigorously refining this groundbreaking practice normally confined to the scientific laboratory.  Upon my return in the winter of 2022, the environmental conditions had dramatically shifted, as ambient temperatures along the Kama River registered an alarming 25 degrees warmer than during any of my earlier expeditions, preventing crude oil from solidifying and thus inhibiting the extraordinary biochemical interactions that had previously occurred.

 

 

The resulting works present a striking departure: the vivid, colourful biological phenomena now having given way to stark, monochromatic images stripped of colour vibrancy and saturated instead with austere clarity.  These works stand as powerful visual testimonies to a world undergoing rapid transformation due to accelerating climate change. Significantly, during this exact same time, unprecedented temperature surges were being recorded in both the Arctic and Antarctic that ruptured and detached vast ice shelves long presumed stable

 

´Plate 01176´ dated January 2022 [ Latitude 58.267010 Longitude 56.377510 ]
unique print on bamboo conservation paper 23.6 x 16.5 inches / 60 x 42 cms
artist signature & date (recto) in black ink

 

Remarkably, my remote, disconnected practice at this time had unknowingly coincided precisely with humanity surpassing the critical tipping point of a 1.5°C global temperature rise above pre-industrial levels, dramatically breaching the 2015 Paris Agreement thresholds far ahead of predictive models alarming the global scientific community. Such synchronicity cannot be considered mere coincidence; rather, it embodies a pivotal moment revealing systemic human overreach and environmental impact.

 

´Plate 01027´ dated January 2022 [ Latitude 58.267010 Longitude 56.377510 ]
unique print on bamboo conservation paper 23.6 x 16.5 inches / 60 x 42 cms
artist signature & date (recto) in black ink

My practice has consistently emphasised ecological interdependence and sustainable design, advocating for circular methodologies where creation inherently acknowledges its eventual dissolution. My works interrogate not only material provenance but also corporate governance and ethical accountability. In their desaturated, spectral composition, these images function as contemporary memento mori, poignant reminders of collapsing ice sheets induced by persistent petroleum carbon emissions contamination, and ecological degradation. Their progressive loss of colour mirrors the broader erosion of biodiversity, river purity, and oceanic vitality, vividly rendering visible the stark consequences of global warming: coral bleaching, mass extinction, and irreparable loss.

 

´Plate 00882´ dated January 2022 [ Latitude 58.267010 Longitude 56.377510 ]
unique print on bamboo conservation paper 23.6 x 16.5 inches / 60 x 42 cms
artist signature & date (recto) in black ink

 

You can view and download the full illustrated and interractive PDF catalogue here, the catalogue includes an augmented reality viewer so that you can see the artwork in your own space hanging on the wall. Works are available now for purchase at our storefront www.DistilEnnuiStudio.com.
 

pdf art catalogue with augmented reality viewer for artworks