prairie garden

prairie garden is an exploration of Midwestern landscapes. Often known as flyover country, the Great Plains scenery, history, and culture are often overlooked or ignored. This region has a large history that is rooted in Western cowboy culture, indigenous land and stories, and enduring pioneers. Using a combination of digital and alternative photographic processes, the series shows picturesque dreamland sown from a seed of truth, as all elaborate mythologies begin.

My work uses the archive, history, and social contexts to create conversations through images. My style is firmly rooted in a theoretical approach to the documentary tradition, working in the moment with larger concepts as the driving force. Ideas of authenticity in photography and storytelling play a parallel role in my practice. My image meanings are shifted in exhibition using installation techniques influenced by regional aesthetics and mixed-media approaches. While creating imagery, my work is strongly rooted in research, challenging the preconceived notions we have about place, people, and the stories we tell.