Work: Backwoods, 2017, Paper print from 35mm black and white negatives
This is a series of homes and buildings photographed while driving through the back roads of Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina in the United States. This area within the Appalachian Mountains is home to rather antiquated and alternative lifestyles, hidden from the modern world of cities and towns that surround the area. Homes are mostly all one can find in these parts deep into the woods, for there is little industry and community around. These images capture the personal spaces of the anonymous people who inhabit these peculiar places found deep within the Appalachian woods. The identities of the owners are unknown, however each structure offers a glimpse into the lifestyle and character of the person inside. |
Biography:
Hannah Sommer is a first year student at the University of Westminster earning her BA in Photography. She is originally from Asheville, North Carolina, located in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. Her work focuses primarily around portrait and documentary photography and works with both digital and analog mediums. Her photographs aim to tell stories of places and people that are often overlooked or misunderstood. She strives to capture the obscurity and uniqueness of day to day life. Most of her photographs are taken around Western North Carolina and the surrounding southern states. Having grown up in these areas, she is entranced by the traditional and alternative cultures that thrive within these mountains and aims to preserve that in her work. |