No Direction Home showcases the work of rising American artists Alec Soth, Amy Stein, Brian Ulrich, Doug Rickard, Justin James Reed, Naomi Harris, and Stacy Arezou Mehrfar. With each artist exploring contemporary strains of the tradition of road photography, they picture a nation in the grip of radical social, economic, and ecological transformation. Naomi Harris’ America Swings reveals the uncomfortable moral landscape of a reinvigorated “lifestyle” in Middle America, while Brian Ulrich creates stoic eulogies to a broken optimism through his portraits of abandoned strip malls. Doug Rickard’s appropriations of Google Street View images puts anonymous suburbs of the city’s edge back in the spotlight and along with Alec Soth’s quest to make autonomous photographs in his video The Democratic Labradoodle, reminds us that we are also in the midst of redefining a photographic tradition. From the fragile untouched landscapes of Justin Reed and the brutalized developed environments of Stacy Mehrfar, to the vulnerable humanity of Amy Stein’s Stranded, No Direction Home pictures a country attempting to come to terms with its new condition even while recognizing that a great deal still remains the same.
Head On Photo Festival, in association with INDEX is pleased to present No Direction Home curated by Stacy Arezou Mehrfar.
Official Opening Event on Tuesday 24 May, 6-8pm
