Jason Vaughn

When photographer Jason Vaughn first traveled across his newly-adopted state of Wisconsin, one part of the landscape stood out because of its ubiquity and variety: the humble deer stand. These quirky, homemade structures—where hunters can remain out of sight and protected from the elements— attracted the artist’s eye, initially, as a recognizable subject that could serve as an icon for the Midwestern tradition of hunting. Three months into the project, Vaughn was diagnosed with leukemia, and the deer stand project assumed a vital, personal resonance. As he sought out the owners of these semi- permanent structures to ask permission to photograph them, the artist heard stories of familial connection to the land and the passing of the deer stands from one generation to the next. As the father of an infant son, facing his own mortality, Vaughn re-approached his photographic series as a vehicle to explore questions of impermanence, individuality, and legacy.