Nathan Pearce

My family has lived in the same section of rural southern Illinois for many generations. They farmed the poor quality land with tools that now seem like ancient artifacts to those of us still living. Even tough the work must have been almost unbearably hard at times, they never abandoned the land that was their home. 

I wonder if, on one of the humid Midwestern nights in the farmhouse, my ancestors dreamt of leaving. I wonder if the flat land that seemingly went on forever was comforting to them or caused anxiety. I wonder if they started to feel trapped. I wonder if all of this never crossed their mind as they worked and worked and worked. 

The tools I have used to photograph the land were simple and unpredictable much like those that my earliest ancestors here used to farm it. I had only a little control over the outcome in the pictures. I embrace the flaws in the final results in the same way that I embrace the flawed land that is my home.