Few topics stir heated debate like climate change, and a new documentary photography exhibit now on at Three Shadows Photography Art Centre subtly, but insistently, adds to the ongoing discussion.

Through a series of photos and video installations, "Coal + Ice" examines the drastic effect coal mining is having on the earth. The series leaves you feeling disturbed, but educated. The overarching narrative is meant to trace the resource's trajectory from a product mined for consumer use, to its effects on climate change, particularly the alarming rate at which glaciers in the Himalayas are melting. While the cautionary message is universal, it is meant to be seen as especially relevant to China and the United States, both among the world's biggest consumers of coal.

The show opens with a series of panoramic images of glaciers, on the backs of which are photographs of children and miners covered in soot and filth. It's impossible to not cringe when faced with the honest, direct photography seen throughout, especially images of children who are surrounded by filth and polluted air. The pictures of naked and near-naked bodies inside coal mines, or of people taking a break from work while covered in soot and smoking cigarettes are particularly disturbing. Others showfactories whose plumes of smoke seem to take on a life of their own.

Ominous background music sets the tone. It's particularly resonant in a room in which life-size photographs are played across several screens, showing a progression of the development of coal production techniques, and years of bodies being contaminated by factory fumes.

"Coal + Ice" is a collaborative effort, with photographic contributions from 30 artists from China, the United States, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary, Poland, Norway and the UK, with support from a number of galleries and organizations. The show is presented and produced by the Asia Society in cooperation with Orville Schell. Susan Meiselas and Jeroen de Vries curated the exhibit.

DETAILS

What: Coal + Ice

Where: Three Shadows Photography Art Centre

When: through Nov. 28

Web: www.threeshadows.cn