Two Tales of One City
In January 2025 while on assignment as a photojournalist with Faith and Values Spokane (more about FaVS at https://favs.news), I captured moments within three events. One event was two days before the inauguration, one on the day, and one on the following Saturday. The stark emotional and ideological contrasts between the first two experiences and the third became the inspiration for this exhibit.
As a pastor and an artist, I experience art as essential to addressing broad divisions between people. Art moves through defenses and reaches anyone willing to engage with its emotional and transformative potential. As a Christian, I practice empathy for the people who live in both realities while I live in solidarity with those who respect all humanity.
I present these images in 9 pairs, creating one document from two images. All were photographed in Spokane, WA, a region known for its Aryan Nation history and less known for the larger population that countered the Aryon Nation. The image pairings reflect the emotional differences with the hope of immersing the viewer in the tension.
I have displayed the paired images in a progression where the viewer can enter the harsh reality between the group’s different beliefs and move to deeper conversations with images of opposing ideology. In the final images for Two Tales of One City, two young people move out from the frame leaving the viewer to contemplate the life of the next generation.
