In 2011, I placed a lot of energy in photographing and studying the landscapes of abandoned cities in the South.  On my journeys back and forth from Greensboro to Winston-Salem, I was amazed by the structures of the former textile warehouses and mills that sat decaying, and vacant.  As, I travelled more to cities like Danville, Martinsville, Petersburg, and High Point, I saw more of these buildings, but less opportunity for people reinvent the spaces (and as a results the communities) because the loss of the industries completely obliterated the economies. 

The attached photos are images that I caught when I was in Danville, VA for a storytelling festival. The series is called Lost in Time.  Here are my comments on the trip.

Last Saturday, I traveled to Danville, VA for a storytelling festival. After the festival was over, I ventured through the city to check it out. I was overwhelmingly surprised by what I saw. Blocks of vacant factories and buildings. I began to wonder why don’t restart the economic redevelopment in cites like these. Because there are ton of them in America. I plan to visit again, to talk to people, and check out more places in the city

My question is how do we rebuild these cities, so that the people who were unable to leave, when the industries left, can rebuild as well?

I  guess in some sense this is the precursor that prompted me to respond with a hypothesis like Greensboro’s Heart.  Reinvention, Restore, Re-fabricate, Recycle, Reuse.  How can we create life for these communities again? The question still remains.