I began driving on interstates in the wake of a divorce as a way to sort out my emotions and plan my new future. Over time, my interest shifted from myself to the act of driving and the use of this liminal space. Originally shooting landscapes by pointing a handheld camera out the window while driving, my method evolved to include portraits of passing drivers by adding an array of three cameras mounted on tripods and operated with remotes. Actively shooting throughout the southeast for seven years, each road trip yielded tens of thousands of images which I edited down to the select few that reflects my vision of this liminal space that is unique to modern American culture.

Interstates can seem harsh and uninteresting. The word brings up images of featureless concrete structures and bland landscapes. But I find the sealed environment of our cars, the high speed of travel, and the limited access of the interstate itself, all serve to separate us from our fellow travelers and the landscape we traverse. ‘Bardo’ is a Tibetan term, meaning ‘an in-between space’, and usually refers to space between death and rebirth. I am proposing that driving on the interstate is a bardo, timelessly existing between what we’ve left and our next destination.

Not unlike a film in the classic American road trip genre, I establish a sense of place with monumental landscapes, whose dream-like blur and dynamic compositions convey a relentless sense of forward momentum and lack of specific locality. The portraits intimately introduce us to the inhabitants, the denizens of this cultural and geographic anomaly – individuals who, like me, appear lost in thoughts that ruminate over past events and project into the future.

The series reflects how this twentieth century innovation turned the experience of a journey from an exploration out into the unknown, connecting wayfarers to new experiences, to one where a traveler disconnects, and the attention turns inward for a rare opportunity for introspection and reflection. It encourages viewers to contemplate our competing needs for both isolation and connection.