Sara Pajunen’s “Mine Songs”: An Artistic Reflection on the Dichotomy and Transformation of the Iron Range

In the heart of Minnesota, the Iron Range stretches, a testament to the dichotomy of human artifice and nature. It is a place where the raw beauty of the wilderness meets the relentless pursuit of industry, a place where the silent whisper of the wind through the pines is punctuated by the distant echo of iron ore being dug from the earth. It is here that Sara Pajunen’s “Mine Songs” finds its inspiration, a long-term project that uses a unique blend of violin, environmental sound, image, and archival material to reframe our thinking about the altered landscape of Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range.

Rust — aerial image from the northern Minnesota Iron Range

The Iron Range, a series of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior, shows us both the power of nature and the indomitable spirit of humanity. The ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by the Giants Range batholith, an outward manifestation of the ancient geological forces that shaped the land. The iron deposits are Precambrian in age, in many ways representing the enduring strength of the earth.

Yet, this land of natural beauty and geological wonder has been irrevocably altered. The iron ore industry, which began in earnest in the mid-19th century, has left a significant impact on the landscape. The once pristine wilderness has been scarred by open pit mines, the earth ripped open to reveal the valuable ore beneath. The mining operations have evolved into enormous industrial complexes, where huge machine-driven shovels and other machines remove massive amounts of ore. The open pit mines, with their terraced sides and geometric precision, are as artificial as any cityscape. They are monuments to human ambition, carved into the very flesh of the earth.

Fayal Extension Pit — Mine Songs is a long-term project by artist Sara Pajunen that explores the altered landscape of the Mesabi Iron Range through sound and image.

Even the water in the Iron Range bears the mark of human activity. The process of mining and the exposure of iron-rich rocks to the elements can result in the leaching of minerals into local waterways, a phenomenon known as acid mine drainage. This can turn rivers and lakes a startling shade of orange or red, a stark contrast to the clear blue waters one might expect in such a natural setting.

In these ways, the Iron Range has become a strange hybrid of the natural and the artificial. It is a landscape that has been systematically altered, shaped not by the slow march of geological time, but by the rapid pace of human industry. It is a place where the boundary between the natural and the man-made has been blurred, where the wilderness has been transformed into a vast, open-air factory.

Pajunen’s “Mine Songs” is a reflection on this history, and the stories we tell ourselves about history, power, identity, and agency. It offers a widened view of the extraction industries’ effects on the region and in turn, the planet, revealing the non-renewable profit-driven relationship large land owners and European immigrants established with the environment, a relationship that has been in place in the United States for hundreds of years.

IN THE WATER-FILLED MINE PIT — Based on poetry by Sheila Packa, In The Water-Filled Mine Pit explores the landscape of pit lakes, huge cavities created by extractive mining that have filled with spring and rain water.

Despite the profound changes wrought upon the landscape, the Iron Range retains a stark, rugged beauty. The artificial hills and valleys, the terraced sides of the open pit mines, the strangely colored waters — all contribute to a landscape that is uniquely its own.

In the end, the Iron Range stands as a powerful symbol of the Anthropocene — the current geologic age, viewed as the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment. It is a stark reminder of our capacity to shape the world around us, for better or for worse. It is a human artifact on a grand scale, a monument to our ambition, our industry, and our impact on the world we inhabit.

Through her violin and the environmental sounds she incorporates, Pajunen invites listeners to reorient their awareness towards their surroundings, encouraging a deeper understanding and appreciation of the environment. “Mine Songs” is more than an artistic project; through her work, Pajunen invites us to examine the stories we have been told and the ones we tell ourselves, prompting a reevaluation of our relationship with the environment and our role within it.

Parts of Mine Songs will be on display at Joseph Nease Gallery through September 9th.