Liz Miller Kovacs is a photographer and artist from Los Angeles, now based in Berlin. At age 17, she began taking black and white photos with a vintage 35mm camera, but photography only became her primary artistic medium recently. Her Hungarian grandfather and uncle were immigrant coal miners who passed away when she was a child, and her curiosity about their lives sparked her interest in mining. Since 2020, Liz has focused on studying, exploring, and documenting the human and environmental impact of extraction industries — and the critical role responsible mining plays in shaping that legacy. In 2024, she started a new chapter by formally requesting and gaining access to extraction sites and working with SOS Orinoco on a documentary that contrasts regulated, responsible mining with illegal mining in South America. Her practice utilises analogue and digital photography, encompassing research, documentation and creative self-portraiture:

"What will future cultures think of the altered landscapes we leave behind? My long-term project, "Supernatural," contrasts past iconography with the surreal conditions of the Anthropocene era. I imagine future archaeological discoveries and the potential narratives that could emerge about our civilisation. I photograph the landscapes of the Anthropocene, from landscapes altered by industry to abandoned mines that are slowly being reclaimed by nature.

I document the scope and scale of these landscapes, and bear witness to the stark difference between the rigour of modern, responsible mining operations and the legacy sites of past practices. I capture the unique visuals of mining and quarrying in my work — concentrations of minerals, geometries and chemical elements. By framing these landscapes as aesthetic spaces, I hope to raise awareness of our consumption and our dependence on natural resources — and the importance of sourcing them responsibly. I also ponder, "What action can we take today to ensure a more sustainable future?

A unique feature of my contemporary photography work is that I offer a female perspective of these landscapes by photographing myself on location. I document myself wrapped in fabric to accentuate the contrast between the softness and vulnerability of the body and the environment. I see parallels between our culture's exploitation of nature and its objectification of the feminine. My draped figures reflect archetypes of objectification that have shaped perceptions of women and female roles throughout history. They also embody the enduring trope of female mystique often presented through a male lens. Each photograph is captured and created on location. They are the result of research, travel, and planning, not the work of Photoshop or AI. Witnessing and documenting these sites on the ground level is an important part of my process. The series is also a search for physical connection to our environment in a time when image overshadows reality, and my experiences in these spaces are vital to this ongoing project, which has taken me to dozens of locations around the world."