The photography series American Dystopia follows American conceptual artist Erik Pierce through a journey of reflection and contemplation. This introspective piece moves from person to place, particularly focusing on stagnant verses fluid space.
Italian journalist Italo Calvino once wrote in his famous book Invisible Cities that;
“The inferno of the living is not something that will be; if there is one, it is what is already here, the inferno where we live every day, that we form by being together. There are two ways to escape suffering it. The first is easy for many: accept the inferno and become such a part of it that you can no longer see it. The second is risky and demands constant vigilance and apprehension: seek and learn to recognize who and what, in the midst of inferno, are not inferno, then make them endure, give them space.”
Scorched by a collision of vehement cultures, the United Mexican States, more commonly referred to as Mexico, is, as Calvino described, a blazing inferno. Electric currents traverse the southern sierras, and steadily flow north to the Chihuahua Desert, feeding the uncontrollable flames that ignites the souls of cities.
Mexico is not for the faint of heart, for faceless shadows hover in the darkest corners of the region, and despite their presence, visitors are greeted with the exuberance of familiarity. I journeyed from the sands surrounding the Gulf of Mexico to the border of Belize, through the Monte Azules, to the shores of the Pacific.
Some places were desolate, with long stretches of road suspending forgotten towns in a haze of the past. Others were bursting with life - vibrant colours coated colonial architecture and citrus aromas danced through the streets.
“To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful, ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of poetry.” Gaston Bachelard
The contemplation of space, and the geometric forms that layer our natural environment, often leaves one in awe. It is hard to translate this sense of awe into words, though I best describe it as when one feels a calmness wash over the mind and soul.
