En route, 2011

Feng Hatat   New & remarkable Artists

Photographs of gas stations do not constitute a genre, but photographers have been fascinated by these places for a long time, particularly in the US where they are essential stops on the endless roads.

Whether they are photographed by day, at night, working or abandoned, they carry in them the idea of adventure and travel... They are also places where strangers of all horizons and with various destinations have the possibility cross each other.

Feng Hatat’s “road” photography can be inscribed in this ""lineage"" of places photographed by night. Everything seems to happen in the lower third of the image, but the low angle shot gives a dizzying aspect to the impressive lamp on the right, while the other lamps are in the right proportions. The four white spots of the projectors visually emphasize the black of the perfectly opaque sky. This middle section seems to be highlighted by the horizontal neon light. Below this line, the perspective is suggested by lines of spotlights and poles that contrast with the curves on the ground. There are no vehicles on the first two tracks and the gaze is taken to the background where we can see the same bright spots that punctuate the whole photograph. The impression of a deserted place and the idea of a human presence both linger in the image (the two characters on the left are barely visible) even if the only human element is the implicit presence of the artist both in front of the scene and as a part of it.

It is a momentary articulation that opens up to an intimate reflection on reality, in front of the photograph...