Hope was in the air as was a grim reality on the ground. The fabric of the country was showing signs of fraying at the edges. The Sun Belt, that led America in growth and innovation for the past few decades, had stalled.
“Stillness In The Eye Of The Storm” - Edward Burtynsky

At the outset of 2009, the United States was on the brink of monumental change. I too found myself facing important decisions and creative challenges. For most of the previous two decades, I had focused on the documentation of the remnants of the world’s historic empires. I realized, upon returning from extensive shooting in China over 2007-2008, that over this long time frame, I had neglected to focus on the home of today’s great empire, America.

I chose to explore the route controlling the pulse of America’s housing, immigration, agriculture and military sectors, the Sunbelt. Stretching the dramatic 8000-kilometer expanse between Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California, I set out to see what the idea of “change” was about across the region. The date that my journey began, January 20, 2009, the day of the inauguration of the President elect, Barack Obama.

Photography Robert Leslie
Editorial Direction Chris Boot, Director, Aperture Foundation.
Forward by Edward Burtynsky, OC Afterward by Cameron Sinclair