©Julie Rae Powers, Deep Ruts book cover published by Platanus Editions

Deep Ruts is a poignant exploration of the Appalachian spirit. Published by Platanus Editions, Julie Rae Powers’ images show a personal and emotionally forward presentation of the region. Appalachia is known for its history of coal mining, rural isolation, and tradition. As a Queer photographer, Powers shows the reality of navigating these entangled spaces. The monograph is separated into three portfolios: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Playing off of these traditionally religious concepts, their aura is felt throughout Powers’ photographs. Using a variety of black and white and color, scanned documents, family photographs, and self-portraiture, Powers leads us through the candor of their narratives. Deep Ruts guides viewers through the history, values, and aura of Appalachian roots.

©Julie Rae Powers, Self Portrait as Coal Miner, 2014

Julie Rae Powers is from West Virginia and Virginia. They come from a working class family of homemakers, teachers, coal miners, and railroad laborers. They received their MFA in Photography from The Ohio State University and their BFA in Photography from James Madison University. Their photographic and written work has focused on family history, coal,
Appalachia, and queerness.
Their work is collected by the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at the University of Michigan, have been awarded the Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award in 2016 and 2020 and was selected in Photo Lucida Critical Mass’ Top 200 for 2021. Recently, they were named as part of Silver Eye Center for Photography’s Silver List for 2023. Julie Rae is a part of “Y’all Means All: Queering Appalachian Voices” edited by Z. Zane McNeil. Soft Lightning Studio, an inclusive photo book publisher created and ran by Julie Rae published “The Home We Know” by Ben Willis which was featured in the Washington Post and is collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Watson Library. Additionally, they are the author and editor of a forthcoming collection of Queer Appalachian photographers. For their day job they work as an Instructional Designer.

Follow Julie Rae on Instagram: @julieraepowers and @softlightningstudio
Follow Platanus Editions on Instagram: @platanuseditions

©Julie Rae Powers, Mom & Dad, Coal Mine Tour, 1988-87, 2014

Deep Ruts

Deep Ruts is a collection of photographs taken over ten years by Queer Appalachian photographer Julie Rae Powers. The title is a triple entendre alluding to the deep roots of religion, a deer in rut, the ruts and grooves carved into the mind through our values, thoughts, and daily actions. Portraits and landscapes set an isolating, longing stage, using rural Appalachian iconography and self portraits to queer the mainstream media’s perception of Appalachia and the people who live there. Within this monograph, Powers traces the narratives worn deep into their identity and offers us an intimate glimpse of Appalachia, coal mining, queerness, and the process of excavating the tender truth within each story. Deep Ruts exists in three portfolios: The Father, The Son, & The Holy Spirit.

©Julie Rae Powers, Pops, 2014

©Julie Rae Powers, Buck near Dusk, 2017

©Julie Rae Powers, Redneck Pieta, 2020

©Julie Rae Powers, Behold, 2016

©Julie Rae Powers, Camo Chiaroscuro, 2014

©Julie Rae Powers, Soft Butch, 2020

©Julie Rae Powers, Warren cutting venison and looking at me, 2014

©Julie Rae Powers, When fantasy becomes reality, 2014

©Julie Rae Powers, Self portrait as I attempt to reveal my secrets, 2012

©Julie Rae Powers, Mom ashing a cigarette, 2016

©Julie Rae Powers, Goin’ to tell it on a mountain, 2021

©Julie Rae Powers, Crotcheted by Mom, 2022

Epiphany Knedler is an interdisciplinary artist + educator exploring the ways we engage with history. Using Midwestern aesthetics, she creates images and installations exploring histories. She is based in Aberdeen, South Dakota serving as a Lecturer of Art and the co-curator for the art collective Midwest Nice Art. Her work has been exhibited in the New York Times, Vermont Center for Photography, Lenscratch, Dek Unu Arts, and awarded through the Lucie Foundation, F-Stop Magazine, and Photolucida Critical Mass.

Follow Epiphany Knedler on Instagram: @epiphanysk