The Town of Wills (2013)

Hand-built miniature diorama, photographed, printed using a historical photographic process, and hand-colored. The actual built miniature was originally installed inside a cabinet where it could be viewed via a peephole (black resin hands holding the cabinet doors shut).

The work examines the town of Williston, North Dakota, during the fracking boom, when an influx of predominantly male workers transformed the town into a modern-day boomtown, with temporary encampments and growing industries of gambling, drinking, and commercial sex. Reports of flammable tap water in homes informs the scene at the sink. The oil infrastructure visible through the bathroom window was illuminated by a computer screen image.