I learned from a work crew that the orange pipes were going to bring fiber optic cable to our rural neighborhood. More pipes began to swirl and swoop beside the country roads. Some pipes burrowed into the ground in one place and burst up from it in another. The bright synthetic orange color vividly contrasted with the natural roadside hues.

At first the pipes seemed to me like veins and arteries coursing through the earth’s body. Eventually I saw them pipe as threads stitching together a patchwork quilt of rural Oregon. The sunny, optimistic color promised more and faster communication between friends next door and across the globe. During the time of Covid more and faster internet communication made virtual hugs easier but never better, than the real thing.

On January 3, 2020 The Independent Community Center in Philomath, Oregon hosted an event for its neighbors to contribute to my photo project. I printed thirteen of the Broadband images on one long 17” X 22’ piece of archival rag paper. Everyone in the neighborhood was invited to come to the ICC to view the print and to write down their personal Covid experience directly onto the print.

I was happy to donate the one-of-a-kind print to the Benton County Historical Museum.