Jupiter Artland, a sculpture park and gallery near Edinburgh, Scotland, is hosting the exhibition "Extraction" (through July 26), which examines the impact of fossil fuel extraction on landscapes and culture. Set against a backdrop of historic shale oil bings, North Sea oil pipelines, and modern wind farms, the show features five artists who explore energy histories through nuanced, non-polemical lenses. Glasgow-born painter Siobhan McLaughlin uses earth pigments gathered from the nearby Five Sisters Bing to create works like "Date of Exhaustion" (2025) and "Pioneer Species" (2025), turning mining waste into art that reflects on memory, ecology, and regeneration.
The exhibition matters because it situates contemporary art within a living, visible energy landscape, offering a layered perspective on the cultural and environmental legacies of power production. By engaging with the site's own history—from shale oil mining to renewable solar arrays—"Extraction" avoids simple environmental advocacy and instead prompts deeper reflection on cycles of wealth, technology, and identity. The show also highlights how degraded industrial sites can become unexpected habitats and sources of artistic inspiration, challenging narratives of exhaustion and loss.