This legendary route was for over half a century the main access from East to West, crossing 8 states. The Mother Road. Taking a bite out of its glamorous lure, Route 66 was decommissioned in 1984 and officially disappeared. Replaced by new Interstate Highways bypassing small towns, it created a great strain for the economy along the old road and its inhabitants. From the Grand Canyon to the ‘Magnificent Mile’ of motels and drive-thru chain stores, from the Dust Bowl years to the hope and angst of the near future, unexpected perspectives unfold along the journey across America, and reflect upon a country in a disrupted present.
Home on the road, travelling together with singer-songwriter Luke Nyman, revisiting the landmarks of American Beat culture, filming with hand-held camera and improvising music performances in many places along the road trip. Bedel filmed and recorded stories from the ‘Children of the Mother Road’: a cowboy’s wife, motel workers, war veterans, artists, musicians and historians, all had stories to tell. For her second solo exhibition in the gallery, a selection of her photographs and road movie will be presented. Opening with a music performance by Luke Nyman.
Delphine Bedel is a photographer, curator and editor based in Amsterdam, and co-founder of the Amsterdam Art/Book Fair. Her artistic and research-based practice involves documentary photography, publishing and lectures, reflecting upon the shift of historical sites to tourist destinations. Her work is shown internationally, among others at Centre Pompidou, Paris, Secession Vienna, Museum Gouda, and De Lakenhal Museum, Leiden. She is visiting professor and tutor at the Geneva University of Art and Design.