Under The Connector

When I lived in Charleston, South Carolina I became aware of a highway bridge that connects marshy island communities and their beaches to the mainland peninsula of Charleston, the city. This Connector, as it called, is a monumental path lifted high above the marsh and the sea. It is a clean cement arc while underneath lies something else entirely. To get underneath one must ride a bicycle up to a section where one ramp passes under another. Here you can hop over the side onto a cement platform and begin to explore. Underneath is pluff mud – decaying plant matter with the signature funky, low tide smell of the Lowcountry. There are wild fox, crabs, abandoned sailboats, homeless encampments, and other mucky treasures. I photographed under The Connector for three years. During this time I was going through the end of my most significant relationship to date. This nether-space was a place for me to do some kind of shadow work--to look at the places in me that were wounded and needed healing. Looking at our current world, I believe what has been missing is men doing this shadow work rather than choosing violence and putting all of humanity at risk. The full-figurative images of me were made in collaboration with photographer and friend, Leslie McKellar.