THE HARDIN VALLEY PROJECT

AN EXHIBIT BY EMILY GREENQUIST

April 10 — June 7, 2024

OPENING RECEPTION
Friday, April 19 at 5:30 PM

ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

Photographs show the development of Hardin Valley from 2020 - 2023, exploring the emotional balancing act between the sadness of change and the need for development. The series is shot on 35mm black and white film and inkjet printed. 

Artist Statement

In my four short years living in Hardin Valley, I have seen a lot of change. I remember running to the store in the middle of lockdown and noticing that an empty farmhouse had completely disappeared. I was astonished. It was beautiful. Why was it torn down? But I knew; we all know. The land it sits on is more valuable than the house. All that was left was yellow straw covering naked earth where a house sat for a hundred years. Also in the frame, a “turn only” arrow  in the road suggests the valley is going in a different direction. Since 2019, Knox County has gained more than 18,000 people and there is westward movement within the county so Hardin Valley has exploded. As a photographer, I felt the call to document these old houses before they were erased and replaced with subdivisions. I then took it a step further and documented the change itself, sometimes revisiting the same locations several times. Starting with the still standing empty farm houses, then the farmland that was cleared, hills being excavated, subdivisions being built up, and property being posted for sale. As I photographed this project I often thought about the emotional balancing act between the sadness of change and the need for development.  

About the Artist

Photographing since she was a teen, Emily Greenquist received her BFA in Photography from Brigham Young University - Idaho in 2011. Emily has lived and photographed all over the country and has now settled in East Tennessee since 2019. She is a full time mother to three wonderful girls.