Andrew
Paul
Skoda

“This place is like dirt. In that you add a little bit of water and you get mud. And you get stuck. Did you get that? A little bit of something and you get stuck. Boredom lands you a girl, you have a kid, you need to provide for your family and then all of a sudden you’re bogged down and trapped. And it’s all the same shit. Ohio. Illinois. Indiana. That industry you keep talking about, it done came and left. They got robots doing our job, they send the orders to the plants in China or whatever. It all gets comfortable and then all of a sudden you can’t leave. But that don’t mean there ain’t beauty to be found here. It is eerie that all these sights feel familiar. Anyone born here will know that brick or A-Frame. We just gonna keep working ourselves to the bone. It don’t matter at all that we’re broken and tired. And you know, even if you do get out just remember that you’ll find your way back. You’ll end up missing this land. I hope you find God one day, boy.”

Shit River seeks to evaluate the ever changing state of the post-industrial Midwest. The massive downsizing, automation, and globalization of industry has dramatically impacted the people and landscape of middle-America, with many communities dotted along the Cal-Sag and I&M canals suffering shocks great enough to leave them in a near-catatonic stupor. A pensive farewell to what many consider to be the traditional ways of Midwestern living is due, as America is a changed and evolving place. The landscape, the people, and the economy were shaped by industry and subsequently, the growing lack thereof.