‘Proceed to the route’ photography by Tania Franco Klein
Technology has grown at such a fast rate that it’s hard for us to keep up at times. To think only twenty years ago the idea of a smartphone that can shoot video in 4k quality was crazy. As technology progresses not only do we gain access to new things like better cameras, ways to stream any movie we want, and unlimited music, but we also are able to constantly communicate with the world and have at our fingertips access to the entire world of knowledge. We are swimming in a sea of overwhelming knowledge and information being thrown at us from social media. It’s begun to feel at times we are more lost than before we had such technology. Back when you had to pull out a map and find your way without simply typing in an address and turning when it says so, and this is something Tania Franco Klein focuses on during this series of storytelling works.
‘Proceed to the Route,’ is a series of photographs taken by Tania Franco Klein in which she documents her journey navigating life and the world. From London, Mexico, and California Tania has been all over the world but still feels lost. The name of the series comes from the phrase we constantly hear when using google maps. When you begin your trip or you miss a turn you will be told to “proceed to the route.” At that time you will look at the screen and start on the street it’s asking you to go to then the trip begins. You are lost you don’t know where you are, streets and places are unfamiliar to you but you pass through with confidence that you will arrive at your destination. The map knows your path even when you do not.
Through Klein’s saturated cinematic images, we see a womans journey through self-discovery and a desire to break free from this world of overwhelming knowledge. To leave this map behind, to venture into the unknown, while she will be truly lost she will hopefully find a true destination other than that mapped out for her. “I get down from my car and leave her behind. She can’t stop being herself through. As I walk far I can hear her still saying. Proceed to the route.” (Quote via Tania Franco Klein’s website)
Source: The series page on the artist’s website.
Follow Tania here on Instagram.
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