Artist: Michael Mergen

Project: Confederate Heroes, Confederate Dead

Description: At a moment when national dialogue about the Confederate Flag is prevalent, Michael Mergen’s piece Confederate Heroes, Confederate Dead considers how the South—and particularly Virginia, where he resides—memorializes the Confederacy. Mergen is especially interested in statues of unnamed Confederate soldiers. “I’d seen these statues seemingly everywhere,” he says, “and began to think about the idea of portraits, contemporary portraits, of these unnamed Confederate soldiers who still gaze across county courthouses, town squares, and cemeteries.” 

The piece itself is a grid of these portraits; each other image represents a detail of the whole.

Eyes on the South is curated by Jeff Rich. The weekly series features selections of current work from Southern artists, or artists whose photography concerns the South. To submit your work to the series, email Jeff at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..