The Abandoned America thing was my idea to collect the histories and photographs of asylums (at first) into somewhere where they could be shared and heard. Both a literal and figurative descriptor of people and places left behind.
I've learned so much from so many people. So many stories of those who have lost jobs, health care, homes, communities. It's a job collecting and storing pain. I never stopped believing in its importance but it never stopped hurting. Every day in a new way.
You see the ship is going down. You tell yourself it's an important moment in time that people will wonder about for decades to come. You try to document it as best you can because what else is there to do.
You're still on the ship. The cold water is still rushing to greet you. You aren't able to make it to a lifeboat, you know that.
You just record the stories of those who are in the same position as best you can. Maybe some day someone else will find it and find it useful. That's the hope.
Abandoned America
CheapPontoon