Deep South, Untitled (Three Drips)

Sally Mann has documented her native Virginia for more than 30 years. In her series Deep South, she metaphorically transposes histories of the American South into photographs using the wet-plate collodion process. The laborious technique, which dates to the Civil War, requires the photographer to bring a bulky view camera, glass negatives, and a makeshift darkroom wherever she goes. The process requires great technical skill and is prone to accident. Rather than attempt conventional perfection, Mann embraces scrapes and fogged negatives that enhance a melancholic quality in her images. The outdated chemical process makes material the permanent impression of history on backcountry southern landscapes.