Displays, 2014
For several years I have photographed people and places in my home state as well as its surrounding states. Like a slow burn, one can travel for many miles across the Southern Plains without seeing signs of human life. This can be a gratifying experience. Despite their banal appearance, there is a sense of timelessness depicted in the images. The scenes are like documents of a bygone era. Curiously, there is a sense of pride revealed in how the people residing within this vast territory have shaped their environment. This cultural phenomenon has informed how I respond to this place.
Today, most of these once flourishing sights are nearly deserted, mainly due to economic hardships. Still, there remains a presence that one cannot help but notice when passing through the open countryside and its small towns. Consisting mostly of an agrarian lifestyle, the communities reveal the spirit of this place caught between the past and an uncertain future. Through continued studies, the work has grown more somber. They display how one remembers their home.