Land Marks, 2015

According to a recent U.N. World Urbanization Prospects report, Charlotte, North Carolina, is forecasted to grow 71% over the next fifteen years. This expansion is already being seen through infrastructure investments and burgeoning suburban growth. In addition, historic neighborhoods within the I-485 beltway are rapidly changing through economic development, shifting demographics, and pedestrian architecture.

At its core, Land Marks is a study of place, the culture and society that is shaping that place, and the visual structures and remnants of those that live there. Land use determines the landscape. The photographs within this portfolio are concerned with where land has been marked. Marked for growth, marked for loss, and marked for progress. These images contemplate the visual, natural, and architectural compromises of such growth. Landscapes of habitat, recreation, and commerce are seen all around us. Many of them are not spectacular and are routinely ignored.

This portfolio was commissioned by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Arts & Science Council for the 2015 Community Supported Art program.