"Cattle Business" looks at cattle ranching in the contemporary American West, shot during four years of working as a cowboy and ranch hand. The series is a photo-specific series to examine American imperialism through ranching, and focuses on how the camera influences depictions and interpretations of the American West.
Agriculture throughout the American West is directly tied to the preservation of the Manifest Destiny ideology and the imperialist expansion of a white supremacist nation. All of the operations photographed for this series are involved in sustainable or regenerative ranching models, yet are prey to the same pitfalls that have dogged American agricultural enterprises since white colonization began. Acquisition and dominion of animals, equipment, and land remains the supreme motivator for ranch owners and workers alike, and daily operations are done through an unending performance of cis-heteronormative masculinity and unnecessarily gruelling Protestant work ethic.
Agriculture throughout the American West is directly tied to the preservation of the Manifest Destiny ideology and the imperialist expansion of a white supremacist nation. All of the operations photographed for this series are involved in sustainable or regenerative ranching models, yet are prey to the same pitfalls that have dogged American agricultural enterprises since white colonization began. Acquisition and dominion of animals, equipment, and land remains the supreme motivator for ranch owners and workers alike, and daily operations are done through an unending performance of cis-heteronormative masculinity and unnecessarily gruelling Protestant work ethic.
