lucinda’s valley
lila barth
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The series "Lucinda’s Valley" is a study of Love Valley, North Carolina and the people who make up this unusual community. Incorporated in 1963, the town was founded with the mission of creating a christian utopia, a monument to the American Frontier. Today Love Valley has a very different atmosphere. Having fallen on harder times the citizens make livings ranching and working for themselves. The townsfolk are cowboys and cowgirls that are both encapsulating and defying stereotypes of the South. Through spending several days in their company I used my lens to instill a sense of dignity compiled with reluctance to allow a stranger with different ideals define them. Lucinda was my guide, a hardened middle-aged woman who told me every secret of the valley. These photographs, all taken on 120mm and 35mm film, reflect the unfamiliar faces and spaces of a town stuck pining for the past.
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Lila Barth is a 24 year old medium format photographer currently living in New York City. She graduated from The Fashion Institute of Technology with her BFA in photography. Her work has been published in PDN, Aint-Bad, GUP, The Heavy Collective, and many more. This summer Lila attended FotoFilmic's workshop with Alec Soth in Vancouver, BC. More of their work can be seen at https://www.lilabarth.com/