Placed / Displaced cyanotype + letterpress series
Placed / Displaced explores the ideology of Manifest Destiny and the connection between mining and westward expansion. My ancestors migrated to the rugged Salmon River Valley in NE Idaho seeking the promise of mineral wealth. In the 1890’s, they settled near Napias Creek in a boomtown named “Leesburg” after Confederate general Robert E. Lee. Their will to survive in the harsh terrain reveals their desperate hope, but I question the ideas that motivated them. The formation of the American West is embedded with harmful colonialist and white supremacist foundations which continue to cause dislocation and degradation. Connections between geologic history and westward expansion reveal layered experiences of desperation, destruction, and idealized hope. Placed / Displaced investigates my connection to the western landscape while questioning the formation of my history.