Public Story
Westernport
Westernport is a town that lies hidden deep within in the Allegheny Mountains of western Maryland. Once thriving – it now has a population of less than 2000. Although it is a real place, for me, growing up in urban Baltimore, it was a mythical place. It was the birthplace of my great-grandparents and as a young child I heard many family stories about the mountains, the town, the mines and how our family survived hardship. Like many towns in the region, coal is still extracted from the earth by the successive generations of men who toil in the mines. My great grandfather was a coal miner from Westernport who died at a young age from black lung disease - a chronic illness that even today has no cure. His death changed the trajectory of my family history. My great grandmother and her children left the home that they loved and would forever long for. Although, coal mining continues to diminish as a way of life - increasingly being replaced by mechanization, mountain top removal, and new economies – men are still contracting black lung at an alarming rate. The miner’s way of life was something that I wanted to explore photographically because of the great grandfather that I never knew and the great grandmother that I loved and whose tenacity I admired. There were no family portraits of him, no wedding photographs or letters - I had no idea who he was as a man. This led me to begin focusing on the miners specifically - taking individual portraits immediately after they emerged from underground – their faces and eyes a roadmap into my own past. How long before the coal dust would permeate their lungs, diminish their strength, breath and beauty? The paradox is that the miners long for their way of life to continue even though it is a major threat to their health and toxic to their land. It’s a complex moment because a future without coal is frightening for them. This takes me back to my family that did leave and survive because of the death my great grandfather. These portraits were all taken at the last remaining underground mine in Westernport, Maryland. They are of the people who still call Westernport “home”.
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