Projects—The Idea of Travelling
The Idea of Travelling, 2012
The Idea of Travelling, 2012
The Idea of Travelling, 2012
The Idea of Travelling, 2012
The Idea of Travelling, 2012
The Idea of Travelling, 2012
The Idea of Travelling, 2012
The Idea of Travelling, 2012
The Idea of Travelling
2012
A serie from the project MIGRANT DOCUMENTS
This serie consists of 8 works.
60 x 60 cm archival pigment print.
I imagine them standing at the railing on a ferry, the tourists Tina Enghoff has photographed from behind and below so the view ahead of them consists solely of blue skies. That they are arriving in a new, foreign country, or leaving the old one for a while. The Idea of Travelling. The reality is that they are looking at one of the most famous tourist attractions in Denmark–Edvard Eriksen’s statue Den lille havfrue (The Little Mermaid). That she is a fairytale figure who paid a high price for an impossible desire and for crossing the border between two worlds is true, but Enghoff’s camera lingers not on her but on the bodies turned away from us to face an endless horizon. The figures embody this dream of travelling–a dream that tourist organisations worldwide offer to make come true easily and comfortably. Visit Copenhagen. Dine at our restaurants. Stay at our hotels. See our attractions. Lots of film and photo opportunities. The modern tourist is in transit for pleasure and to return home with experiences, souvenirs and proof that ‘I was here’. Tourism and the photographic medium are closely linked in the form of both postcards and snapshots in albums.
Excerpt from the text Borders by Louise Wolthers, Head of Research and Curator at the Hasselblad Foundation, Sweden.