Being of These Hills by Roger May

Artist Statement:
I began making photographs back home as a way to document mountaintop removal coal mining. Be it naiveté or an honest-to-god belief that I could somehow be part of ending this disastrous practice; I thought I could make photographs that would be convincing enough to grind those wheels to a halt. I came to realize that I was up against giant issue that wasn’t as black and white as I wanted it to be and that if real change were to come about, it would be far slower than I was prepared to work through. Frustrated and wandering, I began to photograph the things and places of home that were familiar to me that connected me to a time when I never thought about leaving.
Collectively, these photographs are a visual love letter to Appalachia, the land of my blood. This is my testimony of how I came to see the importance of home and my connection to place. After moving away as a teenager, I’ve struggled to return, to latch on to something from my memory. These images are a vignette into my working through the problem of the construction of memory versus reality. My work embraces the raw beauty of the mountains while keeping at arms length the stereotypical images that have tried to define Appalachia for decades. It isn’t that stereotypes aren’t true; they’re just not the whole truth.
I am both an insider and an outsider and though I maintain a safe distance in my photographs, I attempt to invite you into the intimacy of family, of sacred space. My work is my bearing witness of a personal journey, of never truly being able to go home again, to seek answers from my ancestral home. Appalachia testifies of timelessness and natural beauty. The mountains testify of protection and sanctuary and at the same time the horrible destruction of mountaintop removal mining. The people of Appalachia testify of their pride and resilience. Old time religion testifies of the power in the blood and a heavenly home just across the shore.
My grandfather told me that I have two ears and one mouth, which means that I should listen twice as often as I speak. Through these images, I’ve tried to do just that – to listen more than I speak, both with my voice and my cameras. These images arise out of my pride of where I am from and where I am of, and an enduring love for Appalachia.