Words and images by Greg Banks

I am a Shapeshifter, much like the witches and wizards from the place of my birth in Eastern Kentucky. My ancestors have passed down the merging of faiths, superstitions and magic from Europe, Native America and Africa that have become a part of Appalachian culture. Through art, visually, I have the ability to escape, hide, transform and distort my identity. I am exploring my Appalachian roots. More importantly, through sharing this largely ignored folkloric history I am preserving the beautiful storytelling from the region.

In Appalachian folklore, there is a belief that through witchcraft one can shapeshift, changing one’s physical form while inflicting disease, destroying livestock and even seeing apparitions. A witch or wizard has not only the ability to shapeshift but can transform other people into animals, changing their form and controlling their limbs. The victim still has vision and memory but moves in a dreamlike state. Typically, this happens at night; an eclipse, hauntings, nightmares, the sound of barking as well as the caw of the crows are ways to predict the bewitching.

The photographs in this project, which also shapeshift, are evidence of my sorcery. They start as digital manipulations, illusions I create using iPhone apps and sometimes even Photoshop. I print from the phone with a darkroom enlarger. I then manipulate the surface of the print with a potion called mordancage, which bleaches the image. When I put the print in the developer, the darkest parts of the image often become veiled, hiding small truths in the image and sometimes even coming off revealing allegories and stories through alchemy.

Greg Banks is an artist who combines IPhone, alt process, gelatin silver, painting and digital printing, currently researching family, folklore, religion in Appalachia. See more of his work at Greg-banks.com, on Facebook, and on Instagram at gregbanksphoto.