Postcards from the American West
This series explores the liminal space of the border between the US and Mexico, where strange and often conflicting aspects of our cultures jump out in sharp relief. The interstate that runs along this border is lined with billboards that are a sort of instantaneous view into our culture. They not only impart their message in seconds through our quick glance up as we negotiate the freeway, they also reflect aspects of ourselves back to us. In shooting this series, I wanted to approximate the way we take in these billboards and their messages. So I shot these photos as a passenger in a vehicle moving at the speed limit on the interstate.
I find that the Texas-Mexico border is a place that is alive and raw, where traits that can often be more veiled in other places rush forward in compelling pairings. Faith and sex, desire and hope, hard work and blowing off steam, impersonal corporations and family-run businesses, police and drug runners, humor and pathos - all vie for our attention as we make for our destinations.
