Elena Willis was born in Banbury, England, in 1979. She studied photography at Concordia University and graduated in 2003. Her work has been exhibited in Canada, the United States, Asia and Europe. Most recently, her work was exhibited in Nanjing, China, as part of a yearlong touring group exhibition of Canadian photographers throughout China, organized by the Alliance Française. Elena has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards namely by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. She thoroughly works on every detail of her photographs, capturing the final product using a large format film camera. Elena’s work is part of collections in Canada, Europe and the United States. She currently lives and works in Montreal.

Statement - Atoms to Energy

All matter exists in three basic states: solid, liquid, gas. They change states based on temperature and pressure. Gases, under specific conditions, will emit a characteristic wavelength that corresponds to a distinct color. What you see in these images is the characteristic wavelength captured by my camera.

There’s a range of gases surrounding you right now, such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water, yet you don’t see them. The only way you can see any of them is by either changing their phase or reacting them with something; which is what I have done. I’m reacting the gases with electricity so that they release photons. Consequently, we’re seeing the wavelength an atom emits when it’s excited.

The body of work Atoms to Energy presents the viewer with this visual world. While highlighting the beauty and mystery of the natural world that surrounds us, I am also addressing the role that nature plays in the development of technology. All the gases photographed in this series are not only essential to life on earth, but to the pursuit of advancements in technology such as forms of alternative energies. An example can be seen inhow nuclear fusion attempts to replicate the mechanism of the sun, which, briefly explained, is the fusion of two light Hydrogen atoms that produce a heavier atom; Helium.

Atoms to Energy is a visual depiction of the color spectrum of these gases that are at the core of complex forms of technology. Often, in the pursuits of mankind, we either replicate nature's own technology or we appropriate the source of the energy within nature. These images seek to remind us of nature’s beauty, its power and the fundamental role it plays in our lives on many levels.

Statement - Rare Earth Elements

Rare Earth Elements is a body of work that addresses the future of mankind and humanity’s relationship with nature. Rare Earth Elements is comprised of seventeen photographs of the Rare Earth Elements (REE’s), also referred to as rare earth metals, a collection of chemical elements found in the periodic table. These seventeen metals are the building blocks of clean technology and alternative energies, driving the global revolution of green technology. As governments and industries race to find answers to a growing energy crisis, alternative and renewable energy sources have become the shining light in this time of uncertainty; however, there is a problem for every solution. This series has stripped the most widely used alternative energies down to their fundamental core to reveal what is really going on behind the perfect picture.

 In order to produce an alternative energy source such as solar power, biofuels, wind technologies, and hybrid and electric vehicles, we must first engage in the environmentally hazardous process of mining. The ironic truth about ‘clean technology’ is that it is far from clean and involves the exploitation of yet another important natural resource (REE’s). Even if REE mines enforce environmental standards to safeguard the environment, one message remains clear: unless the human species develops a relationship with nature that is founded on the preservation of a healthy ecosystem and incurs minimal damage to our environment, humanity’s future is uncertain.

As the 21st century begins, our energy requirements continue to escalate while oil production is expected to fall into terminal decline around 2012. The coming energy shortage is the most serious crisis the world will ever face. In theory, earth’s wind, solar, geothermal and marine resources could each provide more than the total energy the world consumes each day, but it is what is implicated in their harvesting that has created a worldwide unease. This growing concern is due to the fact that REE’s are indispensable to the many current and emerging alternative and clean technologies, such as wind turbines, motors and high capacity batteries of hybrid and electric cars, biofuels, high-efficiency LED lights and solar panels, and the mining of REE’s, which exist in small quantities within other minerals, pose two significant problems. The first is that mining can be a very environmentally hazardous procedure, and secondly, mining for REE’s is a market that is monopolized by China, who produces ninety-seven percent of the worlds supply. In May 2010, China announced it was cutting back on global exports of rare earth elements by over fifty percent, despite a global increase in its demand, and will continue to steadily reduce its exports each year. Consequently, REE mines are currently being developed or re-opened in countries such as Australia, the United States, Norway, Greenland and Canada, and the potential environmental issues that may result from these efforts can be serious, as is the reality that supplies of REE’s are diminishing.

Mining, refining, and recycling of rare earths have serious environmental consequences if not properly managed. One of the strongest examples of the consequences of mining REE’s is evident in the vast environmental damage caused by China’s Baiyun Obo mining operation located in the mining village of Baotou, in Inner Mongolia. The world's biggest mine and the largest single source of rare-earths, this mine produces toxic chemicals that are emitted into the air or dumped into a neighboring tailing lake, contaminating agricultural lands and local water sources, including the nearby Yellow River which is the primary source of water to 150 million people. Villages have also been uprooted and displaced when formerly fertile lands became unsafe for the production of food. The destruction is also found in rare earth mines located across southern China with small illegal mining enterprises. These projects exploit natural resources in the name of developing technology with little to no consideration for the surrounding population’s health and that of the environment. We can only hope that this lack of respect for human welfare and the environment will not be repeated as mines being to operate around the world in search of REE’s.

What makes REE’s fundamental to many new and environmentally friendly technologies are their powerful magnetic properties, also known as ‘super magnets’. These rare earth magnets are made from alloys of rare earth elements that produce an incredibly intense magnetic field, much stronger than any other magnetic material yet discovered. They also have the additional properties of being extremely light which is necessary for alternative energies to maximize their efficiency. A hybrid or electric vehicle that has to travel a reasonable distance on a limited amount of stored electrical energy requires a battery that is small, lightweight and highly efficient, which has been accomplished thus far by using large quantities of rare earth magnets. A Toyota Prius, for example, requires thirty kilograms of rare earth metals for its production.

Certain of REE’s such as Neodymium, Lanthanum and Niobium play a more vital role than other’s in the production of green energy technology, but they are all irreplaceable components of our everyday lifestyles. They are utilized in the manufacturing of numerous electronic products such as TV’s, laptops, iPods, cell phones, as well as in various components of medical equipment, super alloys used in the defense industry, missile systems and satellite communication systems. These are just some examples that make us keenly aware of our addiction to these small, but precious metals.