Delaney Allen - Red Orange
The nature of the road trip, specific to California, has been documented by generations of photographers of place. Aware of this, my approach to the genre is a contemporary application traversing a desolate state examining isolation on and off the road. Creating a disconcerting, indescribable subject matter, Red Orange interweaves landscape and still-life while redefining portraiture thus creating a new, unfamiliar California.
Shot over 8 trips exploring California between 2016-2018, I began to reevaluate the traditional American landscape photography through the use of gels and filters. As the project expanded over time, I looked to utilize time on the road. Supplies were picked up at various grocery, thrift and dollar stores while passing through small towns. These items were later utilized as tabletop motel still-life’s or personal interventions within the nature I was examining. Gels and strobes became a secondary tool challenging the notion that straightforward photography tilts towards documentary. This application allowed for an addition to the unnatural state I was building.
There’s a rudimentary structure to a photographer while traveling - wake-up before dawn, drive until night and motel. Beyond this, the road offers very little structure. For each intersection arrived at one can choose another route. This structureless concept mimics the edit of Red Orange. The relationship of imagery lies in an almost dream-like state ever so ofter coming up for air revealing a new region in the narrative. This can lead to frustration at times, as can life on the road.
