This Holy Hill

“When God looked upon th’ work of his hands an’ called hit good, he war sure lookin’ at this here Ozark country.” —Harold Bell Wright, ‘The Shepherd of the Hills’

‘This Holy Hill’ (2017-present) explores spirituality and myth in America through a rural vacation town. Branson, Missouri is a population of 11,400 nestled in the Ozark Mountains. For more than a century it’s served as a much-loved tourist destination, drawing an estimated 7 million a year at its height. The region champions a particular subset of American values, but above all, a belief its existence is blessed by God.

I was born 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Branson. As a child, I visited several times a year. My work examines the foundation on which I was raised. This culture now sits at the forefront of American politics and the current health crisis. Through a combination of documentary and staged images, I create a nuanced portrait of a worldview often oversimplified. ‘This Holy Hill’ is a project about belief—the belief of one small, isolated community that mirrors a swelling social and political movement. It is a belief I once held. It is a belief I have since lost.

Branson became famous due in part the 1907 novel ‘The Shepherd of the Hills’ by Harold Bell Wright. The Dickensian story follows a world-weary minister who finds redemption in the homely beauty of the Ozarks. The novel was a success and Edwardians flooded the area to wonder at the hallowed hinterland. Today, emblems of that heritage are abundant, from a 218-foot cross to a working chapel in a pioneer amusement park. Seen as a whole, these elements reinforce the notion of Branson as Eden.

My ongoing project juxtaposes Vegas-style glitz and monuments with wilderness and the mundane. These disparate elements coalesce a feeling more potent than its parts. America has a long history of decreeing ordinary places holy, blending nature and the divine as proof of its intended destiny. It’s a story grandly told, partially true and deeply felt.