Michael Thompson

Nothing Ever Happens here | Nothing Every Happens Here is a photo series about my life while living in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The majority of these images were taken just an hour north of the Mason-Dixon Line, an hour south of Pittsburgh and located in the center of the rustbelt, Fayette County. This is a personal series seeing as it contains images of friends and family members living their day to day lives, some days being good, some horrible, and some being just days. 

With its location, it can rightfully be assumed that Fayette County comes with a slew of drawbacks that keep the community in a state of arrested development. Opioids are putting half of my friends in caskets while putting food on the table in another friend's home. The job market is declining to the point that it is financially & emotionally healthier to live off of government checks, or to get money off of deviant activity.

With that being said, this place does have its silver linings, its small rewards that that keep Fayette County from becoming a ghost town. The cheap cost of living (being the main reason), also family and friends are so tightknit here that some young adults don’t see a reason to ever leave, no matter how difficult life becomes the community will stick together. The expression goes “people grow up to become products of their environment” I don’t know how true that expression is, but I’d like to believe it holds some weight when discussing the people of Fayette county. The historic architecture that can be seen throughout the county is a perfect representation of the people who live here; Monuments to how much neglect a community of people can take and still remain strong. www.knowcashvalue.org