“There is history that sits beneath my feet in my grandparents backyard. In recent bodies of work I have travelled home to McIntosh and Glynn County to document various sites of oyster tabby shells, ruins, plantation grounds, and architecture. I want to deeply understand the roots and foundations of where I come from by documenting parts of the land that still hold original tabby ruins and foundations (related to slave trade and housing); to later create my own molds and studies for a longer term project. Each visit feels like a homecoming as I unpack a history that is embedded within the infrastructure of my upbringing. Through the camera, my desire to handbuild, and my intention to mine memory; my goal is to photograph and build different small forms of oyster tabby objects – using this as a time to process and to redefine the key materials I need to use to create.” – Davion Alston