Eugene Huff is recent graduate from Hampshire College, where he studied photography, art history, and anthropology. Currently, he lives in Western Massachusetts and works at a local art supplies store. His work revolves around a documentary style that deals with deeply embedded histories culturally influenced landscapes and his own memories. Coming from a family of amateur photographers, he felt compelled to carry on the tradition and explore his own voice in the art. He finds that shooting photographs helps him slow down and fully examine the world.
Plastic Peaches
This project started when I had a dream about velvet Elvis Presley paintings hanging in an old thrift store. Although I am from Georgia, this dream seemed strange as I had spent little time thinking about the anachronisms of the South, such as the “King.” The dream, giving me pause, made me decide that it was time for me to go back home and re-examine what I had grown up around. “Plastic Peaches,” a Southern gothic narrative, is what came of this closer inspection. I classify it under this term because when I began photographing, I found that what I was capturing was the literal decay of the South, a beautiful grotesqueness that permeates the landscape. The anachronisms like Elvis Presley, despite being settled in some sort of impermanence, continue on and resonate throughout time. These photographs capture that resonation, pausing the decay for the viewer to stop and contemplate.
To view more of Eugene’s work please visit his website.