This last experience would be the blueprint for This Wild Idea. Theron returned to his grandfather’s farm in North Carolina and photographed him before he passed away. “All the images I made of him instantly became more valuable,” he says. In this way, the personal significance of the image becomes paramount, and the act of preserving a life in photographic form self-fulfilling. We photograph a person or a thing because it holds value, yet the act of photographing that same subject imparts value upon it.
to the public, an idea which is immensely important to Theron. Part of Theron’s popularity on the Internet is due to his hugely creative portraits of his dog and traveling companion, Maddie. Theron rescued Maddie from an animal shelter a few months before leaving to begin This Wild Idea. He wanted a dog as a traveling companion, and in particular a coonhound. As a native North Carolinian, Theron was interested in adopting a southern dog and appreciated the breed’s connection to the South. He describes meeting Maddie at the shelter, and how although he was initially hesitant about the responsibility of taking on a dog, she pressed herself against his leg and he was unable to put her back in a cage; they’ve been together over two years now.
It is this very concept—that each life has value—that makes This Wild Idea so appealing, and so successful. The project was funded by a Kickstarter grant, and enjoys a healthy social media following. Not insignificantly, the entirety of the project is available for viewing online, making the work completely free and accessible As Theron traveled for This Wild Idea—finding
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Issue 1 / June, 2013