As I grew older and began to question my religious teachings, I became more and more fascinated by how other people expressed their own beliefs. They are reflected in images such as a barn in rural Illinois that proclaims “Repent!” to passersby, a billboard on a western Kentucky highway declaring that “hell is real,” or that of a veteran holding a silkscreen portrait of Jesus that he picked up while on leave in Tokyo during the Korean War.

These photographs are my attempt to reconcile with my childhood memories, current beliefs, and with the wonder that I have for how others manifest their faith both publicly and privately.

This project began with a road trip down I-55 to New Orleans a few years ago where I first came across these public manifestations of religious faith in the Bible Belt. The project’s name is taken from a traditional gospel tune popularized by Mississippi Fred McDowell about what it would be like to have a “main” line to Jesus: