“The South is a distinctive place, rich in culture, strong through adversity. What does it mean to be Southern? I owed it to myself to find the limits of my own identity. I found I was defensive for my heritage, but at the same time apologetic for it. I had to delve into my heart to understand these conflicting feelings. How was I to navigate forward, claiming my Southerness? And the South was morphing into something unrecognizable. It was losing its singularity. The project began with a sense of nostalgia. Paradoxically, I was homesick for a place I wasn’t sure I wanted to find. But along the way I discovered a more rewarding sense of place – like the blanket of kudzu holding back erosion, we Southerners have a shared experience that binds us together. We may be different on the surface, but underneath we are bound together on one common ground – and that ground is home.”