2001 - 2008

The photographs from Mile O’ Mud document the world of swamp buggy racing, a long-standing Florida tradition. Originating in the late 1940’s, the swamp buggy began as a modified, Model-T Ford type automobile, outfitted with balloon-sized airplane tires and able to penetrate deep into the Florida Everglades for hunting purposes. The sport was born when one hunter in his custom-built buggy challenged another to a race across a muddy pond and the tradition of swamp buggy racing emerged. The swamp buggy itself has evolved over the years into a boat-dragster hybrid and is no longer made for hunting but rather speed. The race occurs three times a year at the famed "Mile O' Mud", a seven-eighths of a mile (1.4 km) oval track, with a one-eighth mile (200 m) diagonal lane slashed through the center.

Initially, it was the buggies themselves that I found both fascinating and comical. Bearing names like White Trash and High Tech Redneck, these contraptions are completely custom designed and built — oddball mechanical marvels — born from the garage genius of a few self-taught wizards of cubic inches, gauges, airflow, rubber and spark. However, I quickly found myself focusing more on the characters that surrounded the machines, rather than the vehicle itself: from the diehard drivers and devoted fans to the local families and youth culture. And working on this project turned into an anthropological investigation, exploring and documenting what I considered to be a fleeting example of American life in the South.

Over time, my approach evolved and I began to consciously strip away the contextual information and force the viewer and myself closer to the subject. In this way, I was able to discover and record intimate details and at the same time reveal underlying narratives at play: pride and prejudice, masculinity and womanhood, life and death.

For me, the swamp buggy races became a metaphor for the complexities and conflicts of modern American life. For the past 60 years, the community has managed to protect this cultural event against continuing land development and shifting ideology. The struggle will be to preserve both its cultural and individual identity for future generations.