Artist's Statement

Wendy Young

It all started with a disagreement with my friend. She stated vehemently, that all the Confederate Monuments needed to come down. Now.

My gut reaction was, “No damn Yankee is going to tell me what to do with my statues!”  I struggle with that reaction because I have no real connection to these monuments. Yet, I do understand the conflict they represent.

As a Southerner, I often felt that most Northern attitudes toward the South were misconceptions. Now I see those misconceptions have dark truths behind them. My Southern education led me to believe the Lost Cause Myth, which touts States Rights as the impetus for the Civil War. I've read the Letters of Secession from all the Southern States. States Rights, secession, and Southern Heritage can be seen in them, but the core of these letters points to the South’s pro-slavery beliefs and the North’s objective of abolishing slavery as the main reasons for conflict.

I am exploring my clash with my Southern Heritage through these images of Confederate Monuments and the religious conflicts, racial issues, and rural connections that Southerners experience living among them.

It IS a long and slow surrender.