HINDMAN, Ky. (WYMT) – A photographer from eastern Kentucky is using a Golden Age Hollywood style to spotlight Appalachian women in a new way.
Malcolm J. Wilson says it didn’t start as a project, just a reaction to viral videos he saw of Appalachian women circulating online.
“Things from, you know, being toothless to being barefoot, and on and on and on and on and on,” Wilson said. “I would look at them and say, ‘This is not the Appalachia I know. These are not the Appalachia women I know.’”
Wilson says those stereotypes hit a nerve, not only because his roots run deep in Appalachia, but because the strongest people in his life have been women — from his grandmother, daughters, sister and his mother.
“The absolute strongest woman I ever knew was my mother who fought breast cancer for 20 years before it beat her,” Wilson said.
Wilson wanted the public to see Appalachia through that truth, so he created a photo gallery called “Appalachia Beautiful,” highlighting the beauty of the women in the mountains.
“We thought it would be a little project and maybe we’d get 12 women to do this, you know? And then we started putting some of them out on social media and this and that and it blossomed,” Wilson said.
This idea was sparked nearly two years ago, and inspired by artist George Hurrell. Malcolm says his project was inspired by Hurrell’s work, and he aimed to retouch photos in a way that Hurrell could have done, using modern technology while staying within those limitations.
More than sixty women participated, with ages ranging from 17 to nearly 70, from four states and nearly 20 counties.
“I didn’t care what you looked like. I don’t care how short you are, how tall you are, how round you are, how skinny you are. You just had to be an Appalachian woman,” Wilson said.
Women in all walks of life participated, but all displaying the same message: that Appalachian women are strong, resilient and beautiful.
“I hope people take away with the fact that Appalachian women are beautiful. They’re not what you see,” Wilson said.
He says the purpose of the gallery is simple: to replace caricatures with real people, real stories and to let Appalachian women define Appalachia for themselves.
Wilson says at the event, women will be partaking in a “quiet protest” where they will leave their high heels on a red carpet outside and enter barefoot.
The photo gallery will open May 30 at 6 p.m. at the Appalachian Artisan Center in downtown Hindman. It is free and open to the public.
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