In summer 2021, I began to document Confederate monuments that have been torn down. I want to create a record of an unraveling — this moment in time when long-held narratives about Southern pride and memorialization of Civil War leaders are literally being knocked off their pedestals.
Diving into archives to show what once was, and combining that with photographs of bare pedestals where statues have been removed and naked blocks of stone where plaques have been pried off, is my way of creating a record of this important moment.
But, perhaps, the most telling part is in showing where these monuments are now. Some have been auctioned off to private collectors and others are slated for museums. But many have been hidden away in storage lockers, warehouses, and sheds until a divided public can agree on what to do with them.
From city impound lots to prison maintenance yards, I find the banality of the new locations to be a fitting kind of shame for these once revered men.
