Hopewell Virginia was once known as the Chemical capital of the South. It was a town built and sustained by industry, with vibrant diverse communities through more then half of the twentieth Century.

Hopewell has since suffered numerous disasters, first as industry scaled back it’s presence, environmental— with the 1976 Kepone pollution scandal, and repeatedly by duplicitous developers and municipal mismanagement. The town has never recovered from the combined impact of these as well as regional an national economic trends that have affected so many small towns.

These images both examine historical images with contemporary views, as well as survey the current landscape of the town.

A series of portraits of towns people will also be included.

I am currently seeking a grant to mount an exhibition of those images in Hopewell, including an artist talk and open photography workshops for Hopewell’s interested citizen’s. The grant would also include an exhibition of the workshop attendees work. The exhibition would travel to both Richmond and Los Angeles. A portfolio of all work in the project will be donated to the Appomattox Regional Library, and to the State Library of Virginia as a social document.