Europia
2016
I took a trip with my father which came to be referred to as the Baltic Tour. Starting in the Netherlands (with a short detour I took to Italy) we traveled together through Germany, Poland, Estonia, Russia, and Finland. Throughout the planning stages and during the trip, I started to reflect on the allure of travel and tourism, perceived place versus actual place, and the difference between expectation and reality. Conscious of the influence pioneering European photographers have had on me, and looking through my North American perspective, I was also drawn to the nostalgia of old Europe. But I felt that limiting my field of view to the Old World aesthetic would be ignoring too much of the reality of the present. Here I observed some visitors scrambling in their attempt to capture pristine memories without the incumbent signs of modernity. Or tensions between the need for tourist dollars to preserve, and the desire to preserve against tourists. Instead, I was left looking at a broader intersection between all of these different influences.
