What’s it like to live, survive, and prosper in a community that’s physically isolated from the larger world? For 11 years, local photographer Spencer Ainsley journeyed into the rugged hills of the Blue Ridge Mountain region of North Carolina to learn about and photograph the customs and traditions of the local people. These visits resulted in Beyond the Woods, an exhibition on display in the James W. Palmer Gallery through October 22.
According to Ainsley, during the late 1980s and early 1990s "I spent many weekends on camping trips driving my rusted 1971 Oldsmobile north in an attempt to meet and photograph people comfortably isolated from the outside world," and to "attempt to portray the wonderful simplicity of their daily lives."
The result is a collection of 31 black-and-white photographs documenting the people and the isolated area they inhabit. In "Molasses Lady," Ainsley captures the image of an elderly woman cradling two bottles of the regionally famous dark molasses from her family’s sugar cane farm. Murph, a 77-year-old hermit is documented in "Recluse," as he peers out the front door of a structure made out of old license plates.
Ainsley’s love of photography was born on a 1979 trip. After graduating from SUNY New Paltz, he journeyed cross country with a friend by bicycle. He never had an interest in photography before accepting a camera and 15 rolls of slide film from his father who encouraged him to document the trip. An interest in photography turned into a passion when he moved to Germany for two years. Upon his return, Ainsley began his newspaper career at the Millbrook Round Table, and has been an award-winning photojournalist for the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group and the Poughkeepsie Journal, where he is currently the director of multimedia, photography, and videography.
An artist reception will be held on Thursday, October 2, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the James W. Palmer Gallery.