Nathan Pearce

I had a very vivid dream when I was a teenager. I entered a room full of people and made conversation while music played. I approached where I remembered the door being but found no door. I made my way across each wall only to discover that I was in a room with no exit. Every time I would inquire about an exit the music would stop and everyone would silently stare at me for a moment. It sounds frightening, but I was never afraid.

The rural Midwest is a place with no exit for some people. It's not that they are trapped here. It's that they have no desire to leave. Everything they know and want is on this land. My family has been here since the area was settled and many still farm the same land from previous generations.

My family and friends are here so why make an exit?

These photos were made on using a Leica M2 camera with 50mm Summicron f2 lens graciously loaned to the photographer by Tamarkin Camera in Chicago, as part of their "From Shutter to Show" initiative.