Locusts have plagued humanity since before prehistory; devastating crops, causing famines, and forcing human migration. They would have arrived unexpectedly, often after a change of wind direction or weather, the ominous buzzing and darkening sky serving as harbingers of the oncoming devastation. According to the book of Exodus, locusts were one of ten plagues God inflicted upon Egypt as a demonstration of power. Yet, locusts are also said to be the food of prophets and holy men during times of pilgrimage and exile in the wilderness. Loss transformed into sustenance for the “voices crying out in the desert”. ‘The Locusts’ brings us to examine the complex relationship between anxiety and hope, blessing and curse, sin and salvation. The photographs in this series were made in my backyard in rural Ohio. As the son of an evangelical missionary and pastor, I draw largely from scripture, theology, and existential philosophy. Like most of the classic western poets and artists, my early thinking was shaped by dualistic notions of christian orthodoxy. However, the same, paradisiacal, notions have also been largely responsible for the suffering we see in the world today. My backyard, both paradise and wilderness, signals a move away from this way of thinking and invites us to search for grace and healing despite, and in, the brokenness and imperfection of life. As Elizabeth Barrett Browning said, “Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God, But only he who sees takes off his shoes;”.

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