In His Image is a personal project set in Northwest Georgia, a place in the American South that is a backbone in the textile and flooring industry, and the images in this project can be representative of struggling working-class towns across the country.
The project In His Image is focused and set in Northwest Georgia, a piece of the heart of the South, that has prided itself in the manufacturing industry of flooring, carpet and textile. Although, some of the major companies not only remain open but thrive, a number of the smaller factories have been forced to close and sell out. During the recession of 2008, in some counties, layoffs were of record-breaking proportions and a number of towns suffered.
Northwest Georgia remains as a setting for the photographs in a way that can be representative of struggling working-class towns across the country. A place that took value and pride in the resources they had and stand as a metaphor of a transitional place within today’s social-economic and political climate. People seem to be waiting, unsure of what for. The towns in this section of the rocky Appalachian foothills is where the term “the wrong side of the tracks” truly reflects the representation of a class divide, with the railroad splitting many of the towns in two. As a nod to the title, I explore my own experience with the constructs and roles of the Mother/Father figures of my upbringing. The photographs of In His Image are meant to be read intimately and represent this human identity as a child to the Southern American landscape.