(This year’s Spotlight on Local Talent series highlights some of the artists being exhibited on our Public Art Project “The Georgia FENCE” on the Atlanta BeltLine’s Westside trail. Every Tuesday at noon in October, check our Instagram live for a brief interview that will illuminate the stories behind these compelling photo projects and connect you with these exceptional local artists.)
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) project focuses on the deterioration and breakdown of places that once were pillars in our communities. VFW posts - in disrepair and decaying – are symbolic of how we treat our veterans who return from war. We are losing the places that were once the support structure for veterans to overcome their war tragedies.
Without camaraderie and support, war veteran’s silent memories percolate and often cause anger, depression, sleeplessness, and many other symptoms that can lead to suicide. Every day in America we lose an average of 20 veterans to suicide (increasing from 16 per day in 2005). As posts disappear, will suicide rates will continue to increase?
The social fabric of veterans has suffered, reflected by the decline in VFWs at a time when America has been in continuous wars for almost 20 years. The story of these posts is the story of America.
About the Artist
Teri Darnell is a photographer who finds inspiration in people, places and culture. Her work has been displayed across the globe in Tbilisi, Beijing, Berlin, Paris, London, New York City, and Atlanta.
In 2020, Teri received a grant from Idea Capital in Atlanta. In 2019, she was a Critical Mass Top 200 Finalist. In 2018, Elizabeth Avedon honored her book ‘Crossing Cheshire Bridge’ as one of the best photography books of the year. Also in 2018, she was nominated for the Royal Photographic Society in London as a ‘Hundred Heroine,’ won Silver and Bronze awards in Fine Art and Portraiture from Prix de la Photographie, achieved 3rd place at the SOHO National Photo Competition in New York City, and her Cheshire Bridge Road Collection: a decade of 45 thousand digital images, draft and first edition books, archival prints, and collaterals was acquired by Emory University's Manuscripts, Archives & Rare Books Library (MARBL), Atlanta, Georgia . She is a graduate of Baldwin Wallace University with an EMBA and The University of Maryland with a B.S. in Business Management.