Roei Greenberg
UK / Israel
Nothing New in the West
2022
The American road trip is one of the most celebrated genres in the history of photography. It conjures a sense of freedom, of escape, of self-empowerment and endless possibilities. However, the American landscape also represents the contested relationship between humans and the land, it is about conquering or being conquered, and as such, it is unharmonious. By looking at the road as a stage, the geographic journey slowly detaches from the documentary nature of photography. Familiar situations are framed with a sense for dramatic irony and appear as absurd scenes that often seem to have been carefully staged. When Greenberg was living in Israel, he traveled back and forth on one road that spans 470 km, from the country’s northernmost border to the southernmost border, which he continued to photograph for many years. Upon moving to London, he traversed the English countryside repeatedly, ‘mapping’ his new geography to generate a sense of familiarity and belonging. However, observing a foreign culture from the road while covering more than 8,000 miles in just 30 days… What can one possibly add to such an oversaturated topic to begin with?
