Roopa Gogineni is an American photographer from Charleston, West Virginia. She received her BA in African Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and an MSc in African Studies from the University of Oxford. Visiting home, she was struck by the anachronisms of the coal industry. West Virginia is a resource-rich colony being stripped of its wealth and its residents are marginalized citizens. This photo project documents the people and places affected by mountaintop removal, a method of coalmining prevalent in Appalachia.

www.roopagogineni.com