Heartland. The mythical claimed core of American identity, constantly talked about in the abstract by pundits and poets alike. Coming from a real town in this nebulous idea (Sycamore, Illinois), Heartland is a photographic essay in book form that wanders and examines this point on the map of the Midwest. It is both a direct look at the specifics of the place I spent a big chunk of my teenage years in, but also delves into my own conflicted relationship with a town that had no place for me and its relationship to the grand narrative of America.