WHAT IS (the) SOUTH ?

I live in Manhattan in the 21st century so I should know the answer  to this one. In truth the answer is fluid, it depends upon where you are standing.  If you are standing on let's say 125th Street and decide to venture to 124th Street you are going south.This question came to me in response to a electronic portfolio posted on CNN of images taken from a juried exhibition SlowExposures:Celebrating the Rural South.The comments were strong.

One of the images chosen was by the artist Paul Conlon which was part of an exhibition I curated last year for SlowExposures called Southern Memories . I was born in the south, I live in what is called the north, yet my memories live in the land of childhood ,untouched by boundaries

Paul Conlon  Trike

Jo Lynn Still   Snow

Marilyn Suriana   Auburn Market 2

A few years ago I became seduce by a photograph of snow by 
Jo Lynn Still, it so reminds me of my first snow.The sky is blue and bright, filled with expectation and magic this picture was taken in Georgia .It is a picture that moves beyond place into memory.

The south I grew up in most people rich or poor , young or old would be concern about how they appeared in public.This was particularly a great truth for my grandmother,who died at 100 years young so when I saw this image by Marilyn Suriana, it was the for me those times that came to mind not the place.

SlowExposures takes place starting September 21

recent edit by Paul Conlan of Trike

A sort of footnote the opening image in this post is the way I first saw this photograph, to me it spoke about age.It is very interesting to see the new crop/edit  it makes for a more balanced image but some of the story is lost.