California Highways and Byways
The California Central Valley is flat. Sweeping vistas reach infinite distances; roads disappear from view and mirages (heat haze) causes roads to liquefy in the distance. Distant towns, farms and waterways coalesce into striking images that define the scope and magnitude of California Highways and Byways.
In his series Field/Campos Coppola traveled to central California to document the conflict between farm workers and large agribusiness. In his images we navigate from seemingly endless and human-less landscapes that highlight the overwhelming expansiveness of single-crop farms to workers laboring in the fields, from the laborers’ perspective to firsthand look at long daily commutes down gravel roads, and up-close views of crops in their unpicked state. This telescoping cleverly changes both our physical and mental perspectives. Calling into question monocultures, the sustainability of industrial farming, and the backbreaking and often unregulated labor to harvest crops Coppola takes a deep look at where our food comes from.
-Curatorial Staff, Bakalar & Paine Galleries
California Highways and Byways is available as individual archival photographic prints
