Once Upon a Time in the Midwest - 2016
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Production notesSilent witnesses of decay
in rural America In summer 2016, a couple of months before Donald Trump coined his slogan to "Make America Great Again", I went on a road trip through parts of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. Many companies and citizens in those midwestern US states have witnessed a sharp economic decline over the past 15 years, due to the adverse effects of globalization and other factors. As a consequence, many small or medium businesses had to shut down, resulting in numerous joblosses for mid-income workers. A similar decline is visible in the agriculture sector, where huge food production companies are now dominating, while smaller farms nowadays are hard to find - or virtually extinct. Traces of this unfortunate development are abundant in the midwest. The number of lost places aka abandoned buildings and vehicles is too high to count. Thus, the pictures of this series only show the proverbial tip of the iceberg - silent witnesses of decay. All pictures of the series were produced with Nikon F5 and expired Fuji Sensia 100 slide film. |
