ARTIST STATEMENT

The life/death-like figures I encountered in an abandoned house in central South Dakota had apparently been staged. I had no idea for what purpose. This realization and the fear of being all alone in such a startling, remote setting drove me away after exposing just one roll of film.

These images reveal a place once filled with promise for those who tried to stake their claim here. What dashed their dreams of opportunity? Perhaps it was the harsh climate, frozen-ground winters, or an unforgiving drought. Maybe other forces beyond their control made them abandon hope, slowly over time, or through some catastrophic loss. Physical elements of habitation, the artifacts of real people who once had lived here, were all that remained of their dreams in a farmhouse at the end of a dirt road.

We can’t know the details of what really happened here, and in the end it doesn’t matter. Beyond the reflected surfaces, a dimension of personal place emerges. This is a universal place where uncompromising reality has replaced some promise. For each of us, it is only the circumstances that make our losses unique.