The essay by Elise Patterson features interviews with local subjects – a shrimper mourning the demise of his trade; a spoken-word artist and born-again Christian preaching non violence to the youth of Savannah; the chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, a group of African-Americans descended from slaves whose culture blends North American traditions with their heritage; and a Vietnam War veteran- cum-environmentalist. The text forms a central part of the book, running over eight of the middle pages and anchoring the context and structure to Lawrence’s work.
“I did not want it to feel like an introduction, which is why it comes halfway,” says Lawrence. “You are led into [the text] by the images, and then they lead you out of it again.” As the pair debated the edit, the language became clearer. “Formal portraits disappearing, quieter moments, nature, bleakness,” reflects Lawrence. He was drawn to the work by the atmosphere it creates, which he was keen to capture. “We wanted to create a world in which the images and text were focused on themselves,” he says. “It was more about the atmosphere than trying to tell a specific story.”
Exploring these subjects in the context of Trump’s America imbued them with additional significance. “The idea for the project developed in reaction to inflammatory media – the very black-and- white notion of what was going on in the US,” explains Lawrence.
The work is human at its core, unveiling the contradictions and complexities of every individual depicted. Straightforward reportage is eschewed in favour of a much more considered approach.
On their final visit, the pair met Larry Lucas – a Vietnam War veteran living alongside the river, displaying a deep devotion and concern for the Ogeechee. “Lucas is your quintessential white American man,” says Lawrence. “He is 65, has lots of guns, he values his country, he values the flag. But he was deeply thoughtful and provoked a lot of interesting conversations around the environment.” Lucas defies the white, southern redneck stereotype. In presenting individuals who evade rigid categorisation, the work encourages us to consider our own prejudices and preconceptions.
Deciding what to include was as important as deciding what to leave out. “What kind of imagery is useful?” muses Lawrence, pulling up an image on his phone that did not make the final edit. The photograph depicts a young boy, dressed in camouflage, clutching a semi-automatic rifle almost half his size. A swipe right reveals his “gun cabin” – an unassuming log cabin filled with weapons. Albert is 12 years old and from a white, Catholic, upper-middle-class family. His mother often picks him up from school early to go to the family farm where he changes, selects his weapon, and heads out to hunt alone until the sun goes down. But Lawrence explains that Albert is also smart and empathetic: “He cries pretty much every time he kills an animal”.