Kyle Thompson
In "Sinking Ship" Kyle Thompson explores a locational muse- a now abandoned town in the American grasslands. In order to gain an insight in the towns past, he begins to reach out to those still living in similar towns; Towns which once had populations of a few hundred, but now have populations of just a few. Some with only one resident remaining.
Through these interactions, he begins to weave a story of a towns past. A collection of quiet moments of defeat. When the train stopped running through town. When the oil well dried up. When the church burned down.
He then begins to visit these same towns, and creates a series of self portraits temporarily resuming the lives the past residents left behind. By wearing the clothes found in the closets, and using the objects found on scene, he is then able to formulate moments that remain as accurate as it is possible to know them. Moments that remain true on a tangible level, but still contain large gaps of missing information and context.
