A Vietnamese Mardi Gras krewe.

The Black longshoremen of Mobile’s Banana Docks.

A meditation on rice and belonging.

This Food Issue isn’t just about what Southerners eat—it’s about who we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re going.

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The Earth's Pivot

Artist: Aaron Canipe

Project: Plateau

Description: The series Plateau by Aaron Canipe examines North Carolina’s Piedmont region. Inspiration for the series comes from Thomas Wolfe’s novella The Lost Boy: “ . . . the earth’s pivot, the granite core of changelessness, the eternal place where all things came and passed, and yet abode forever and would never change.”


Aaron Canipe was born and raised in Hickory, North Carolina. He earned his MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts from Duke University. He helped co-found the publishing imprint Empty Stretch, and his work has been exhibited throughout the Southeast. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.

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Jeff Rich

Jeff Rich is a photographer based in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. Jeff currently teaches photography at Coastal Carolina University. He curates the OA’s weekly photo series, Eyes on the South.