I wanted to create a cinematic snapshot of the South seen through the lens of female sexuality, because it’s the only thing I can think of that even comes close to mirroring the same amount of complexity—not to mention its taboo nature in the context of Southern culture. It’s about the architecture, decay, beauty, sense of Southern grandeur glazed over unspeakable ugliness, and the rising pillars of Confederate monuments. The existence of this city is in constant conflict—old and new, good and evil, tradition and innovation, white and black.
This all ties into the concept of a “wild woman” as an object of fear, madness, beauty, wonder, rage, and magic. I thought it would be fascinating to set it against the Southern landscape and subvert the patriarchal and traditional views of what a “wild woman” (an empowered, free woman who doesn’t fit societal roles) looks like, and show this gradual awakening. I wanted to capture something that feels organic and wild and reflective of what it feels like to be a woman in the South: caged and restless but also strangely, inexplicably free.
By Erin Davis
