May 2, 2014

Exploring the Medicine Hat Brick Plant

In 2012 I was fortunate to get the opportunity to document and explore the Medicine Hat Brick and Tile Plant (I-XL) for my Around the Hat photo series. I photographed the interior extensively, and immediately fell in love with the location. The aging machinery and eerie silence make it a fascinating post-industrial landscape to get lost in. 

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of going through the brick plant again, this time with the specific goal of understanding the chain of events that take place in the brick making process. I'm currently working with old footage of the plant in operation to create short vignettes of the various stages, which will eventually give visitors a rare glimpse of the machinery in action. Medalta plans to open the factory to the public for guided tours soon, and these videos will be a big part of enhancing that experience. In the meantime, here were some of the new shots I took on my return visit.