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Aerial Views of Industrial Farming Are Horrifying, Beautiful


September 18, 2013 | Marina Galperina

British artist Mishka Henner stitched this together from hundreds of high resolution, publicly available satellite photographs of industrial farms in Texas. On the ground, Feedlots are difficult to document, with various ag-gag legislation around the US outlawing “unauthorized” photography of these gigantic breed/feed/kill imperiums as an illegal, even “terrorist” activity. No one really wants to see where their sausage is coming from and this view of vast captivity and sterile, tight compartmentalization borderlines on dystopian science fiction, even if you like sausage. Henner admits to that it’s a little bit fiction — “the physical details are unaltered,” but the colors are enhanced. Poetic license? That massive, raw, oozing red orifice really drives the point home.

Tascosa Feedyard, Texas (detail)

Coronado Feeders, Dalhart, Texas (detail)