By Jamie Bando

My project voids itself from life. Many documentary works focus on people and how their stories are representative of their communities.  Rather I alter the subject in my photographs on the fine details of the buildings surrounding us, and how each structure speaks of community differently.

My photos show the brick and mortar that holds up the South. These buildings have been visual keys for me in understand a new environment.

I start with Durham, my first impression of the south. The buildings represent the city’s conservation of memories. Memories altered for contemporary purposes, only leaving the essence of what once was. The rest of my project focuses on what I have learned about the South outside of Durham. I move to the modern, spotlighting Raleigh. These photos represent the new overtaking the old—completely replacing distant memories, rather than holding onto them. The final segment looks into the small town and rural landscape. These are places in the south that upkeep tradition, not only display the façade. I include a few photos of deterioration, but want to make clear that they are not about the state of being decrepit. Rather they warn audiences that the quaint historic downtowns are not all that meets they seem on the surface either. Finally I focus on the rural, the parts connecting these small towns. These places are where tranquility and nature take over.

Architecture is treated differently in the South. It’s practical yet historical…modern yet modest. New yet still old.