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Using a post-documentary approach, artist Elijah Howe presents handcrafted objects and photographs exploring the people, places, and cultural traditions of Chained Rock, a fictional town that functions as a composite portrait of life in rural Kentucky.

In the artist’s apocryphal telling, Chained Rock is a project about a small community nestled at the foot of Pine Mountain. The residents of Chained Rock live under the shadow of a massive boulder, secured by chains put in place by the town’s forefathers to protect against the threat of it tumbling down. Below, a powerful river flows, often rising high enough to breach flood walls and inundate the town. This exhibition investigates why Chained Rockians remain in a place so fragile, perpetually on the brink of destruction.

Chained Rock becomes a site of shared experience, created from Howe’s earnest building of relationships, as well as his labor-intensive engagement in learning how to make traditional objects tied to Kentucky’s history and material culture. This project aims to connect viewers to the heart of this region and to foster a belief in the people and the town in which they reside.