16086 mi.
My parents left the USA 32 years ago. Being born in the Netherlands makes me officially dutch, but I still feel some kind of attraction to my parents’ homeland. I set out to find what it is that makes this country so fascinating to me.
During a three month period, visiting as many places as possible, I attempted to get acquainted with the country that plays a large role in my family history. Without a specific goal, I allowed the road to lead me and documented my surroundings in a manner guided solely by intuition and a desire to explore the unknown.
Travelling by car from the east coast to the west coast and back, I found many things, but not a wholly encompassing ‘answer’ to my quest. The images portray visual discoveries; all found during this journey, all photographed as they were they were encountered, all confirming the feeling that this place was more alien than resemblant to something I would call home.
What remains from the journey is a look at American culture through landscapes and the structures that reside within or around them.
These images were realized as a graduation project for the Utrecht Academy of the Arts. The project consists of a large body of work, of which a selection can be seen here.
