Light in the Darkness

Light in the Darkness

Timber Framing Material Evidence

This photo shows light pouring through some missing exterior siding. It shines on the pegged post that is covered in cobwebs.

Hunter S. Rhodes

Hunter S. Rhodes

Hunter S. Rhodes

Object: exact date unknown, likely early to middle 19th century

Photo: August 9, 2019

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Hunter S. Rhodes

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12.3MP
3036 × 4048
4.2 MB
JPEG

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Color photograph

Timber Frame

This picture reveals more detail about the frame seen from the interior of one of the Evergreen homes. Through some missing clapboard, the sun shines through to show the detail of the pegged joinery of the posts, the white-wash on the backside of the exterior siding, and the cobwebs covering much of the different frame pieces.

For me, this picture is a culmination of the philosophical and ethical endeavors behind this project specifically and my work generally. The material evidence to make a case for the tremendous skill of the enslaved people who built this nation is all around us. Sometimes it is behind bushes and under dirt and through trees and beneath cobwebs, but it is there. If we make an effort to get out into the field and uncover this history, we can work toward removing the cobwebs and shining a light on a oft-forgotten aspect of history that will provide us a new narrative, one that builds on old, familiar, and subversive knowledge that works to liberate people in a way that our current historical narrative never could.