Miss Kim: Palms Motel

I decided to drive. I drove for 45 minutes until the point frustration. I took the next exit with intentions to turn around. Upon exiting, I was confronted with the Palms Motel and knew that that was where I needed to be. I pulled in and ignored all the ‘Business Closed’ signs, caught in the marvel of this abandoned motel. I pulled out my camera and just started shooting, everything, documenting the remnants left behind, all the while with my nerves on edge, feeling as though I was being watched. I approached the lobby door and began photographing, when a dog tackled the door, spooked, I walked away and kept photographing. The Palms Motel is in the center of Ridgeland, South Carolina, a rural town where everyone knows everybody, and I could see the town staring at me across the street, at the gas station.

When I was approached by first an unmarked police car, and then a marked police car, I was confused. A police officer climbed out of his Dodge Charger, in full swat uniform, assessing me. I put my hands up, announced myself as a “SCAD kid” and showed my camera. Immediately, the officer’s demeanor changed, the other police officer exited his Ford Crown Victoria. They had no issue with me photographing at the Motel once I announced myself, and then Miss Kim came out of the office, with her two dogs, Timmy and Sophie, both of which proceeded to run away upon entering freedom. I promptly left after the police.

I returned the following week and coaxed Miss Kim out of her apartment. I met her friend ‘British Brian’ as he introduced himself as, and she told me that her husband, who I never met, could not find out. I got to get to know her and her dogs better, and I found out that Sophie had had five puppies earlier that month, I was able to meet one of them. Miss Kim is a very simple and caring person, who loves nothing more than her dogs. Miss Kim and her seven dogs, living in the abandoned Palms Motel in Ridgeland, South Carolina, recognize the American Struggle. Through these images I hope to have captured Miss Kim’s family effectively and truthfully. Through this project one can gain knowledge on this struggling family living in the abandoned Palms Motel’s office.