Shades in the Dust
Shades in the Dustis a project that was conceived during my years in Louisiana in the graduate photography program at Louisiana State University. The project began as a narrative series exploring issues of identity and alienation, but over time additionally addressed the nature of family and the fear and reality of the loss of loved ones. It has continued to grow and change as I have over the better part of a decade.
During my time making the project, I lost both of my maternal grandparents, my father and my mother-in-law. A sense of grief often colors my feelings at this point in my life and this work metamorphosed into a meditation on what it means to carry on without those close to you. The similarities and contradictions that are inherent in our relationship with the land became symbols of both the past and the possible future. Water, a recurring element in the series, began to signify shifting perspectives regarding time; sometimes stagnant, other times flowing, sometimes clear, sometimes murky.
Shades in the Dust is also, just as importantly, a consideration of what it means to build a new family, to see it live and grow, and to fear its disintegration, all while holding onto the beauty of life. My stepchild was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and the terror of a world without her in it was constantly with me as I finished my studies at LSU. I made multiple trips between Mississippi and Louisiana and sought to chronicle that journey. The project kept growing well into my time as a professor of art and I kept chronicling and reflecting upon these themes.
Though my family has found stability now and my stepchild has emerged with his cancer in complete remission, Shades in the Dust is a reminder of the fragility of the human experience and the cyclical nature of our existence, as well as the hope that we must all hold on to so dearly.