In Mountaintops to Moonscapes Gignoux has created an unforgettable and visually sumptuous photo documentary of the ruinous impact of mountaintop removal mining on the Appalachian region and its people.  Described by environmentalists as “strip mining on steroids,” mountaintop removal mining uses explosives to take up to 800 feet off the top of the mountain to expose the coal seams beneath.

Gignoux will talk about his experiences making this body of work and a related photography series, Oil Sands, which looks at the bitumen mining industry in Alberta, Canada.  Oil Sands was self-published as a photobook in 2018 and won first prize in the Los Angeles Center of Photography Photobook Journal competition in 2019.