For ten years, I have produced photographs of my immediate family within the Knobs and Bluegrass regions of Central Kentucky.
Depictions of rural Kentucky frequently present a region where people are seemingly stuck or looking for an escape. When I started this project, my siblings were younger, and my family sprawled across the metroplex of Louisville, KY. The rural base where some of my family resides is not a trap but a place of refuge. “The Mouth” is a name that references my family’s Aberdeen beef cattle—“Aberdeen” is also a metaphor for “harbor.” This place harbors my family from the burdens of everyday life and provides refuge from a dark and lingering past.
With its beauty and intrigue, Aberdeen is not immune from the realities of life and death. The subject of mortality is no stranger to me or my community. Despite our best efforts, danger and the ghosts of trauma creep through the landscape. Nonetheless, we choose to be here.