I’ve long wanted to do a photo series on the south, but never could figure out exactly what I would do. Whatever it was, I wanted to portray the south in a good light — portray my culture as I see it, not as much of the rest of America has seen it up until the last couple of years: Backwards, slow. Hillbilly/red-neck country. Barefoot and pregnant at the age of 16.
In my excitement to go home, I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I’ve come up with one of the reasons I love the South is it’s timeless. No, not stuck in time, but it just has a timeless quality. It’s a place of family, friends, neighbors and gatherings. A place where you can take the time to enjoy the small things, the things you often don’t notice on a day to day basis. It’s a place of just stopping by to say hi and meeting new people who you find out you may already know through so-and-so or from such-and-such. It’s a place that still has carbs, fat, and calories (and it’s not a sin to consume these). A place where a person cooks meals that were passed down from great-grandmother to grandmother to mother. A place where you can feel the dampness of the air on your skin and you can hear the bugs chirping in the morning and evening. It’s a place where I can run barefoot through the grass, or through the dirt. A place that’s laid back and casual — it’s okay to walk into the convenience store wearing a t-shirt over your bathing suit, hair in a tangled, pulled up mess, slathered with sunscreen. A place where you leave your front door unlocked and when someone knocks you just yell, “Come on in!” Of course, they’re already half way in, because the knock is just meant to announce that your here — you know you’re welcome.
So, I’ve decided that’s it. I want to capture the timeless qualities. Maybe in early September you’ll see that, maybe you won’t. Art is, after all, shaped by a person’s experiences. If I’m successful, the photos will show the South that I know, even to that person who’s only contact with the South has been Jeff Foxworthy and Civil War history.
