And then there is art:
Portraying climate change through an artist’s lens
with Friderike Heuer
"Necessity was of particular interest to me since it addresses questions of law and politics but also puts a spotlight on the power, sacrifice and success of Native American activism, which plays such a central role in the fight for environmental justice."
Friderike Heuer is a member of the Necessity team and an artist with a focus on the natural world, climate change, and civil rights. She has a history in law and psychology and has been working with director Jan Haaken for many years as the production photographer for the Necessity series, as well as previous Haaken films, Milkmen and Our Bodies Our Doctors. On set, she photographs the settings and the crew, and captures the many activists involved in the various fights for a better, more just world.
Born in Germany shortly after WWII, Friderike practiced law there until 1981. She attended the New School for Social Research in New York City and got a Ph.D. in experimental psychology in 1987. She taught psychology at Lewis & Clark College until 2003, as well as some courses at Portland State University where she met director Jan Haaken. They connected over shared interests in the psychology of women.
This was the start of a long personal and professional relationship between Friderike and Jan. In addition to field work in the states, Friderike traveled with Jan to Germany to translate as she interviewed activists around domestic violence and safe houses.
"One of the things that I have really appreciated across these years is the interaction, often very close and personal when you take portraits, with people I would have otherwise never met."
In 2007, she started to focus full time on photography and photomontage, with work shown in a variety of settings, including, the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, Camerawork Gallery, Lightbox Gallery in Astoria, and most recently the Newport Visual Arts Center. In 2016, Friderike made a series contemplating the uncertain future of our natural world and its inhabitants.
Denizens of Climate Change was intended to showcase the landscapes and bird populations of the Pacific Northwest - all of which will suffer the impact of climate change in the years to come, just like the rest of the world. While photographing the beauty that surrounds us, I was wondering, how many of these species and natural sights will still be available to later generations?
Will we have failed our children and their children by not pursuing a way to halt the destructive exploitation of our world more aggressively?
You can see more of Friderike’s work at www.friderikeheuer.online
Or on her blog, “Your Daily Picture: with occasional musings on art, nature, and politics - not necessarily in that order” at www.heuermontage.com