Jason Mitcham's Hand-Painted Stop-Motion Film Memorializes Childhood Home Lost to Eminent Domain

Artist Jason Mitcham created the stop-motion film "Ever Behind the Sunset" to memorialize his childhood home in Greensboro, North Carolina, which was seized via eminent domain in 2011. The local government took the property to widen High Point Road into Gate City Boulevard. By 2023, Mitcham observed that a paved highway covered the former neighborhood, with only fragments of garages and barns remaining. His film combines hand-painted panels with audio from his mother and home videos from the 1980s, exploring themes of loss, grief, and remembrance through gestural brushstrokes. Mitcham describes the work as reflecting multiple devastations: his father's civil engineering firm collapsed after the 2008 housing crisis, his parents faced bankruptcy, both parents died, and the community fought commercial development. A behind-the-scenes video details his artistic process. Mitcham's website and Instagram archive his films and canvas works. The article suggests viewers might also appreciate paintings by Jeremy Miranda. Colossal published the piece in February 2026, encouraging readers to support independent arts publishing through membership.