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The Poison of Nostalgia, a solo exhibition by artist Hannah Harley, opened March 5th at the Annex Gallery at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). Through photographs and mixed-media works of fantasy and jumbled memory, Harley explores the innocence of her childhood in coal country.

An opening reception and artist talk happened on March 5, 2025, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Annex Gallery, located inside Sprowls Hall, 470 South Eleventh Street.

The Poison of Nostalgia
Hannah Harley

I was born and raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania, a quiet community nestled in the Appalachian hills, just a short distance from Pittsburgh. When I was in high school, I felt so certain that Indiana, PA was one of the best places in the world. I still believe that. Yet among the familiar creeks and forests that shaped my childhood lies an unsettling truth: I was being poisoned.

Growing up, I knew that our economy was supported by the university and by coal, oil, and gas industries, among many others.This was simply part of the scenery; the massive “cloudmakers” looming on the horizon, pumping out steam and smoke. They were roadside markers and backdrops to our lives. Years later, I discovered the extent of their emissions, their effects on local air and water quality, and the health implications for our community. It felt like betrayal. The place that shaped me, that still fills me with nostalgic love, was quietly making us sick through an industry that was supporting dozens, hundreds of families. 

My work in The Poison of Nostalgia wrestles with this tension. On one hand, I have endless affection for Indiana County. The people who live here are among the best I’ve ever known. The landscapes are gorgeous, and I’ve spent much of my life wandering around this county. On the other hand, I carry the burden of grief over how these industries have harmed the environment and the people I love. I am reconciling how I can love a place so deeply while recognizing that that place I love wouldn’t exist without the industrial recklessness of the early 2000s.

These photographs and mixed-media pieces were created using digital tools like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Fresco, and Canva. By layering and manipulating images, I’m blending dreamy, childhood scenes with references to local power stations. I aim to replicate that sense of dissonance between innocence and harm. I’m fabricating a lie for the viewer, reflecting my own experience of growing up blissfully unaware of my daily exposures to pollutants. I want that fabrication to be noticeable and hidden at the same time.

In developing this exhibition, I wanted to juxtapose digital fabrications with older photographic processes. Inspired by Anna Atkins and Anne Dixon, who together popularized the cyanotype or “sunprint” method in the 19th century, I created this series of cyanotypes. Though this process was traditionally used to capture botanical impressions of foliage such as ferns and algae, I used coal as the subject matter. I soon realized that these seemingly abstracted impressions could often resemble cloudscapes. 

This merging of digital and traditional methods in this exhibition highlights a crucial element: our conversation isn’t confined to the past, present, or future alone. To embrace this moment, we must recognize how all three intersect, guiding how we see and shape our shared world.

This series is not a call to action so much as an invitation to sit with complicated truths: how our livelihoods and beloved hometowns can be tangled in webs of industry, community, and pollution. The Poison of Nostalgia is about loss, longing, and the ways we cling to these idyllic visions of our origins, even when we know they are flawed. This is love for a place, colliding with the reality of its cost. By stepping into this fantasy of jumbled memories and illusions, I hope we may find space for both grief and gratitude - for acknowledging what has been lost, preserving what remains, and together building a new future.