Emigrant

2014. My beloved dad died and I mourned for months. At some point I had to get away. I booked a flight from Amsterdam to Las Vegas, to pick up a car and drive to Death Valley. There in one of the hottest places on earth I felt I could burn off hurt. Value my life from a distance. Tomesha, the burning ground as the Natives call it. Death Valley to the pioneers who lost fellow travelers in the area. Even by these names and the historical background it seemed right to reach this destination. Here I could begin to see who I was now. My position in the world without him. Along the road I met people that helped me. A distraction from the throbbing wound. The analog photos in this series were taken in Beatty Nevada and at Emigrant, Death Valley USA, october 2014. They form the start of the photoseries 'Tomesha' on robverbunt.nl.