Memories of Dust

Memories of Dust is a long-term project exploring traditional masculinity in Texas through the cowboy, a key male figure shaped by visual media.

At a time when masculinist discourse and so-called “traditional” values are regaining influence in the Western world, questioning dominant male representations has become increasingly necessary. As a central figure in Texas and a symbol of North America, the cowboy has also significantly defined European ideals of manhood through visual media. The hero of my childhood remains glorified as the “real man”: strong, silent, self-reliant, lonesome, and impervious to emotion.

By traveling across Texas and engaging with the ranching community, I seek to move beyond this fixed image. The project investigates how documenting the lived realities of contemporary Texan cowboys can help reframe an idealized figure.

My photographs focus on ordinary gestures and moments of vulnerability among men that are rarely shown, offering a more honest and nuanced perspective on the contemporary rancher. In parallel, I integrate the visual language of the Western tradition to revisit the cowboy archetype and reveal its contradictions and limitations.

Through my project, I observe how the male traits that shaped me are transformed through each image I create. By revisiting the narrative of an influential icon, I document my evolving relationship with masculinity to encourage meaningful conversations about its changing role.

Memories of Dust is interdisciplinary. The project includes sound recordings and transcriptions of conversations with ranchers, which offer new perspectives on masculinity. Placed in dialogue with my own observations, these materials invite the viewer toward a more complex vision of the cowboy myth, in contrast to the simplified imagery of the collective imagination.