James Diggs 2

These images are from my continued James Diggs series, and relate to the origin of my interest of decay in the city of Worcester. Though much of my recent work has focused on material objects, I am also very interested in the process of human decay, its causes, and the environment it occurs in. Decay is far more complex than just a downward slope. There are hills and valleys in this process, and especially in the human case, there is a chance to directly hear the stories of people and chaos, and see their ups and downs. My relationship with James, has allowed me an opportunity to see this spectrum, and helped me see the ups and downs of people in a broader context, beyond what might be considered the decayed people of society. Decay exists in everyone’s lives whether we admit it or not. 



When You Are Feelin’ Down

Sometimes I feel like a motherless child.
The righteousness can’t overcome the raw
Feeling of defeat.

Somewhere out in the ocean, there sinks a man
With only a family as the stitches at his seams.
But I am not him.

Soft like a plank of pine in a stack
Ready to be ripped down
I await a thin exposure.

This man I know has taken me in
Inside his home, a small cube filled with his memory.
But he erases himself over and over again until he can’t remember.


Acting a symptom of pain locked away
He rolls over with the hope of a darkness to sleep under
As if the sun would make a scar.

I could tell you what to do
But would you do it sincerely?
Do not listen.