This visualization and caption advance ethnographic insight by revealing a piece of a methanol plant isolated from its complex. This out of context perspective allows the viewer to more fully reflect on both the scale of the production process, as well as the entire supply chain infrastructure required. The un-natural aesthetics of the structure in this format also communicate or foreshadow the toxicity of petrochemical production and emissions. Presented in a mundane surrounding the structure is ominous and unfamiliar which makes the viewer think critically about its function— versus images of petrochemical complexes, which often have a certain, almost normalized image, and this familiarity can limit an understanding or troubling of the actual production method, or the substances produced.
This visualisation communicates the many layers, unwieldy infrastructures and various technologies that petrochemical companies rely on to assmble their phyiscal structures in particular places. It points to the megaprojects spanning the globe that are behind the idea of a single 'company.'