Artist: Aaron Canipe

Project: Forks & Branches

Description: Forks & Branches is an intimate meditation on the people and landscapes of Western North Carolina, where Aaron Canipe was raised. Tinted with a pervasive sense of loss and nostalgia, the project captures the particular poignancy of an adult returning to the geography of his childhood and reckoning with both his love for the place and a new understanding of its deep flaws, “hurt, detachment, and stubborn grace.” Taken in the aftermath of North Carolina’s 2016 wildfires and that November’s presidential election, when the world “both literally and figuratively felt like it was on fire,” the photographs wind through the foothills in the same manner as the creeks and mountain roads, documenting cluttered offices, abandoned houses, local teenagers, “faded photographs of dead businessmen,” and the “despicable clinging to white supremacy.”

• Rutherfordton, NC Rutherfordton, NC
• Chained dog, Winston-Salem, NC Chained dog, Winston-Salem, NC
• Furniture factory, High Point, NC Furniture factory, High Point, NC
• Homegrown tomatoes, Hickory, NC Homegrown tomatoes, Hickory, NC
• Stoneville, NC Stoneville, NC
• Hydrangea bush, Winston-Salem, NC Hydrangea bush, Winston-Salem, NC
• Art show, Hickory, NC Art show, Hickory, NC
• Newton, NC Newton, NC
• Confederate reenactors, Newton, NC Confederate reenactors, Newton, NC
• High school band, Newton, NC High school band, Newton, NC
• Gibsonville, NC Gibsonville, NC
• Destiny, Newton, NC Destiny, Newton, NC
• Maiden, NC Maiden, NC
• Surry County, NC Surry County, NC
• Exhale, Newton, NC Exhale, Newton, NC
• Cooleemee, NC Cooleemee, NC
• Dixie Classic Fair, Winston-Salem, NC Dixie Classic Fair, Winston-Salem, NC
• Creek, Catawba, NC Creek, Catawba, NC
• Newton, NC Newton, NC
• Piedmont Electric Co., High Point, NC Piedmont Electric Co., High Point, NC
• Hickory, NC Hickory, NC
• Henry Fork River, Newton, NC Henry Fork River, Newton, NC
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Eyes on the South is curated by Jeff Rich. The weekly series features selections of current work from Southern artists, or artists whose photography concerns the South. To submit your work to the series, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..