Photographer Karey Walter has spent her life among the kudzu. Born in 1968 in Pennsylvania, where the plant was first introduced, and now residing in Georgia, one of the states where its infestation is heaviest, she has had a camera in her hand since she was 12 years old and has also held a long love for darkroom processing and the possibilities it brings. Recently, she found herself drawn to the rapacious, ubiquitous plant that has become a mainstay of her homeland.
‘It started in 2018, with this fascination I had with the symbolism of the kudzu plant,’ she says. ‘It grows over everything; it takes over buildings and structures. So, I started photographing the plant, using a 4×5 camera and Ortho film to capture the imagery.’
Image: ©Karey Walter
This equipment, though cumbersome, provided Walter with the high level of detail and broad tonal range necessary to capture the unique textures of the kudzu plant. However, it quickly became apparent that the twisting vine was only part of the story. The kudzu-covered landscapes, in all their ethereal strangeness, were starting to look like compelling backdrops. And a backdrop, of course, needs a subject.
‘I became more curious about incorporating native animals within the context of the landscape,’ she says. ‘And I wanted real specific animals – I was looking for animals that had a quality of mysticism or magic to them. That led to me documenting unique animals, to offset those animals with the kudzu. And then from that, the project grew into my fascination with folklore and mythology and other symbolism that I was finding on this journey.’