Motel Bien Venido, 2010 by Walker Pickering
There's something deeply American about the desire to hit the paved road with nothing but good tunes, a camera and enough money to afford the basics: the motels, the fast food joints and ice cold beers. Inherent in this road trip fantasy is the romanticized notion that because you're (likely) traveling alone, it's nothing but you and the road.
Meal, 2009 by Walker Pickering
Contender Walker Pickering's series Nearly West depicts the still, solitary moments that wanderlusters and Kerouacians long for, the instances of communion between the nomad and that which is encountered. Each setting hints at a narrative describing the deeply personal nature of experiencing a new point on a map, whether planned or not. The muted palette therein reflects the worn and weathered atmosphere endemic to the towns most travelers opt to overlook. These seemingly mundane destinations the Texas-based photographer comes upon are interspersed with beautiful, serene discoveries.
Hole, 2009 by Walker Pickering
In a recent interview, Pickering discussed his often nomadic lifestyle and admitted that the naming of the series also hints at the idea of the grass being greener anywhere but where one is. It would seem, then, that Pickering's road trip is an ongoing one.
From his artist statement:
From Dorothea Lange in the Great-Depression 1930s and Robert Frank in the Cold-War 1950s, to Stephen Shore in the Vietnam-era 1970s, Walker Pickering continues the grand tradition of socially engaged photographic road trips across the United States. With his medium-format film camera, he discovers and documents a panoply of American places in square-format photographs that remind us of who we are as individuals and members of a society. Urban parking lots, rural roads, monuments, motel rooms, and roadside attractions receive Pickering's equal, loving attention. Often infused with golden sunlight and blending beauty with apparent ugliness, his landscapes are both physical and psychic spaces.
Learn more about the artist, his other series and his upcoming exhibitions.
Rainbow, 2008 by Walker Pickering