Artist Statement - I call the process of documentary photography “Recording The Lore” - I believe all things are part of a story being created collaboratively by everyone on Earth. It is the story of who we are, what we care about, how we experience existence, what we create, and what we destroy. The word “photography” - to record or write with light - should be taken literally when considering both content and composition.
I attempt to record the infinitely varied, mythic, bizarre, and sometimes terrifying narratives that exist just below the surface of what we see and take for granted as our reality. My work describes a universe populated by abyssal shadows and shimmering beings of pure color, drifting through smoke and fog. In this world, every emotion from dread to euphoria is felt viscerally and recognized as an important part of understanding what being human is about. Red light spilling over silhouetted forms who wield their instruments to emit concentrated, sublime emotion - this is a depiction of a ritual of creation, not something to be consumed. Faceless barely-human shapes in body armor, packing into a quiet civilian street until the place itself is erased and nothing is visible but a sea of helmets and the violence they imply - that is a warning of apocalypse. These things are around us every day, we see them, but we don’t always recognize them for what they are.
I once believed that to truly record reality, you had to be unbiased and objective, but I no longer feel this is true. Objectivity can be a numbing agent, and when we see injustice or exploitation, when we witness the joy of righteous rebellion - these things should make you feel something. You can’t accurately record a story you don’t understand. Truly, the most important part of recording The Lore is the understanding that being a thinking, feeling extension of existence, while still trying to see the bigger picture, is what defines the experience.
Influences
Creatively, Indigo is heavily influenced by the sublime movement, the southern gothic movement, surrealism, and film. They enjoy fringe psychology and dystopian science fiction. They love Funeral Doom, antifascist black metal, art films, and B-Movies. They must return to nature once a moon cycle or their creativity shrivels and they are dragged into the void until revived with the blood of a freshman MICA student.
They are drawn to situations that highlight class and identity struggles in the United States, as well as all the unique and amazing cultures squeezed into its borders. They despise fascism and are extremely politically active - This undoubtedly adds an emotional and political perspective to their work, and it can be hard for them to remain objective in situations of obvious oppression or exploitation.
Their work exists in the in-between spaces and attempts (sometimes successfully) to prod your subconscious assumptions and internalized symbols. Indigo has no hard answers for you. They just want you to frequently pause so you can observe and interrogate your own actions, as well as the world around you.
The questions to ask are - What caused this? What effects will this have? What is my part in this? Who gains from this? And, most importantly-What really is creamed corn?
Indigo strongly identifies with the Sketch Artist character in the 2013 film “Snowpiercer”. No, they will not elaborate on this.
Bio
Indigo grew up in the anarchopunk and metal communities of the rural southeast. They give all credit for their bizarre nature to their adoptive countercultural family of adolescence, as well as the vibrant and chaotic wilderness of the Pee Dee. Their experiences with love and abuse, street life, drug use, mental illness, and extended aimless travel have radically influenced their art.
Indigo is a nonbinary transmasculine person using they/them pronouns. They think that if that sentence upsets you, ohhhhhh boy is the rest of this page gonna fry your brain. Indigo thinks that if you have trouble understanding They/Them pronouns, you should perhaps read the dictionary more, as “they” has been a gender neutral singular pronoun since the birth of the language.
Indigo is a practicing priestess of Tiawath and Inanna. They’ve had stints as a traveling carnie, a homeless freight hopper, a craft alchohol specialist, and a small variety of alternative modeling experiences and acting in B-Movies before settling down as a working artist and organizer. Indigo encourages you to be mindful of how you treat members of the working class and the homeless people you interact with. You never know if the power you have today will be gone tomorrow.
Indigo currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland, where they run a live-in artist commune in the CopyCat building. They are one of the founders of the CopyCat and Annex Tenants Union, and they are currently working with other tenants in the building to lead the charge against their predatory landlord Charles Lankford. - read more about this at the Baltimore Sun. (Thanks to Hallie Miller!). They won their most recent court case, but the Lankfords apparently think filing infinite doomed eviction cases is a better use of time and money than fixing up the building properly.
The Copycat Tenants Union is actively raising money for Indigo and other tenants affected by the mass evictions at the Copycat. You can check it out here.
Indigo is a tenant organizer and advocate with Baltimore Renters United, and they have been collaborating with groups like Public Justice Center, CASA of Maryland, and others to demand legislation to address the ongoing housing crisis in Baltimore. You can read more about it on their page on SB100/HB36. Indigo is a member of the Equity Subcommittee of the Greenmount West Community Association’s Ten-Year Planning Commitee, where they hope to improve representation for the marginalized groups in Greenmount West and push back against the gentrification being fed by MICA , Johns Hopkins, and new homeowners that only see the neighborhood for its property values. Their work in the last couple years has taught them that no matter what rights you’re said to have, if you have no power to enforce those rights, then they are a myth. This is not a good thing.
Indigo is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Visual Art and Design's BFA Printmaking program (Cum Laude), though much credit goes to the Photography program as well, Specifically Chuck and Kathleen. They are a graduate of the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities Visual Arts Program. They have had work on display at the Philedelphia Shred Shed, Columbia Museum of Art, Tapp’s Art Center, and on the cover of Jasper Magazine; they have also been the featured Artist in Residence in Garnet and Black Magazine. Several of their photographs are included in the Institute for Southern Studies' permanent collection. They have collaborated with several Baltimore newspapers on stories and photos, including the Baltimore Sun and Baltimore City Paper. They’ve collaborated frequently with musicians and bands, most recently writing agitprop for Red Nebula and doing the new Human Barbie video for Empty.
The best way to follow Indigo is on Instagram: Exile House on Instagram
Indigo’s coverage of Shadow Woods Metal Fest was featured in The Baltimore Sun