The Unbodied Landscape is a series of 16 photographs and six graphite stencil drawings that examine the history of nuclear development in America and its lasting impact on both the land and the people who inhabit it.

Captured using irradiated film during a recent expedition to the Trinity test site, these photographs map the journey along I-70 and I-25 to White Sands, New Mexico, tracing the invisible yet enduring scars left by nuclear testing. The accompanying graphite drawings serve as stark visual markers, quantifying the staggering human and environmental costs:

• 17,167 – the number of days of active nuclear testing.

• 1,054 – the total number of tests conducted.

• 21 – the number of days between the Trinity test and its first use on human populations.

• 8,030 – the number of days for which no official records exist regarding nuclear tests.

• 540,849 – the total yield of nuclear tests.

• 226,000 – the estimated number of deaths caused by the bombings.

By weaving together photography, data, and historical inquiry, The Unbodied Landscape confronts the legacy of nuclear development, prompting reflection on its hidden yet pervasive consequences.

• Belinda Haikes