On Nine Mile

The photographs of On Nine Mile were made to explore my developing relationship with the place I now inhabit. They compare the reality of a place against preconception and actual experience versus idealized expectations. After growing up in the Pacific Northwest surrounded by the mountains, forests, and shoreline that typify the landscape of the region, I envisioned, and hoped to see a Great Plains landscape that was more closely aligned with that of Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I became ambivalent about this landscape within a few months of relocating. I found myself in the mindset of those from outside the region – that this place was not much more than fly-over country. I couldn’t see past the farms.

I relied on photography to establish a connection to my new location and to help me feel grounded. In creating this work I have become rooted in a landscape that I once considered shapeless and bleak. I found beauty and form in the small portions of prairie called “Nine Mile” among the corn and soybean fields. By revealing this overlooked beauty my work leads viewers to reflect on the relationship they have with their own landscapes and encourages a deeper exploration and understanding of the spaces they inhabit.