Central Illinois Imagery
As a child growing up in a rural community, I spent much of my youth exploring the outdoors and visiting neighbors, listening to their stories and observing their lives. These early experiences have greatly influenced my work as a photographer, documentarian and community activist.
While working closely with several community groups- including volunteer radio programmers, beauty pageant contestants and urban shamans- I have taken on the role of ethnographer, photographer and participant observer in order to portray those whose lives I am witnessing. I enjoy creating and learning through immersion and observation, while exploring aspects of a subject that may initially be overlooked. I am interested in histories, folklore, the spirit of a location, and in reflecting on my own presence among these people and places.
Most recently I have returned to familiar territory- the farmland of Central Illinois- in order to capture the changing landscapes of small towns. The current issues that these small towns- including my hometown- face in the wake of population decline and agricultural consolidation can be seen in the streets. Businesses are closed, school districts have combined- and the highway- the lifeline of Main Street- has been diverted around town. At what point is a home left, a business emptied, a school shut down? Combining my interest in the grassroots movement, social ecology and fine arts, this project has become a meditative exercise on beginnings, endings, progress and awareness. Started in 2005 and now consisting of over 400 medium format images, I see my work as documentation with an artistic purpose and an autobiographical foundation.
Britten Traughber