Dense forest with vibrant red, orange, and pink foliage, characteristic of autumn. Tall trees and lush bushes cover the landscape.

"...And you cannot step upon ground:

Your leg plunges somewhere
It should not, it never should be
Disappears, and waits to be struck

Anywhere between sole and kneecap:
For when the kudzu comes

The snakes do, and weave themselves
Among its lengthening vines
Their spade heads resting on leaves
Growing also, in earthly power
And the huge circumstance of concealment..."

-Outtake from "Kudzu" by James Dickey

Palimpsest

After 13 years away I moved back to the town where I grew up to take a break from constant travel and to re-connect with family. My wife and I sold our van, bought a house, and settled in to the deep south eager to experience a slower pace of living, but knowing full well that we didn't quite belong. Despite the many recognizable faces and places, my relationship to them had changed. As is everyone who leaves home and then returns, I was a different person. The town changed too, having grown in size with a continuously re-made skyline and a ballooning population we felt increasingly alienated from. 

One feature that still felt familiar was the kudzu. A sure sign you're in the southeastern states, kudzu vine is a quickly growing invasive plant first introduced to the US from Asia in the 1800s as an ornamental addition to the home garden. Later used as an erosion mitigation, the vine found ideal growing conditions in the hot, wet, humid environment of the south and quickly overtook huge swaths of land. Entire trees can be engulfed in the vine, eventually dying as they starve from lack of sunlight. Capable of growing up to a foot per day, kudzu is known for its stranglehold on untouched structures. Buildings and vehicles, if left for too long, may be overtaken and reduced to little more than undulations underneath a suffocating quilt of leaves. Even as a child I found the structures made by its overgrowth interesting. They appeared like non-threatening monsters, slowly moving across the landscape searching for the next structure to patiently devour alongside the highway. 

Photographed in near infrared, Palimpsest is a body of work made while considering the strangeness of a place I was once intimately familiar with.

Tall trees with red leaves in a forest during autumn.
Autumn forest with orange and red leaves, a fallen tree leaning against another tree.
Orange autumn leaves covering trees and utility poles in a forest.
A landscape with trees and bushes displaying vibrant autumn foliage in shades of orange and red, with utility poles and wires visible against a cloudy blue sky.
A large bush with orange leaves shaped like a sitting dog, surrounded by similar foliage in the landscape.
A large tree with vibrant orange fall foliage on a foggy autumn day, next to a grassy roadside.
Colorful autumn forest with red, orange, and yellow foliage and a bright blue sky.
Autumn scene with red and orange leaves covering trees and ground, with some blue sky visible through the branches.
Autumn forest with vibrant orange and red leaves covering trees and bushes.
Autumn scene with dense red and orange foliage covering the ground and trees in the background.
Autumn scene with orange foliage, a single gray tree trunk, and a blue object on the ground in a grassy area.
Close-up of pink and orange fallen leaves covering the ground, with some dark space showing through in the center.