The Disappearance of Joseph Plummer by Amani Willett

A collection of works by American photographer Amani Willett.

Exploring themes of history, land, and myth, Willett's photographs trace the hidden traces of hermits left on land now owned by his family. Willett's father had bought the deed of the land 40 years ago with the intention of building a secluded country house, unaware of the hermit who had roamed the site some 200 years before him. .

In learning of Plummer's existence, Willett sought to capture fragmentary narratives in the same landscape where he once lived. He scoured local historical sources to find the first handwritten bills that indicated the hermit's character, and also researched the actual belongings found in this book. Such visual investigations are accompanied by historical portraits and landscape paintings that inspired Willett's physical interventions in the form of destructive appliqués and collages.

While leaving Plummer's little-known history a mystery, this work has resulted in a direct reflection of past events. Not only is the hermit's existence a counterpoint to the fast-paced, technology-driven modern world, but it also evokes a romantic temptation for a new generation to leave the mundane and venture out. The point also reveals that it resonates beyond time.

"A mysterious story based on the life of Joseph Plummer, a mysterious hermit who lived in the woods of central New Hampshire in the late 1700s. Two centuries later, what A stranger bought a solitary piece of land to build a hideaway for himself, and discovered the legend of Joseph hidden deep in the stillness of the woods. It explores the desire to feel peaceful loneliness far away from all responsibilities and connections in modern society.

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