Over the past seven years, photographer Mark Power has travelled across the US to create a complex visual narrative of a country in the midst of change. The first two of five volumes from the series represent a personal and timely exploration of both the American cultural and physical landscape, and the divergence of reality and myth.

Most lengthy photographic surveys of the States, with Robert Frank being the most notable exception, have been made by Americans: Walker Evans, Stephen Shore, Joel Sternfeld. Power’s perspective, on the other hand, is as a foreigner, travelling to and from America on multiple occasions, thus allowing a mental and physical distance.

Power is from a generation who grew up in the English suburbs of the 1960s, enchanted by the numerous TV shows that crossed the Atlantic from the US, Power began to search for the mythical landscape, even though he knew in his heart it had probably never existed at all. This, combined with Power’s position as an outsider, a foreigner travelling to and from the country, has produced a unique and ever shifting perspective on a complicated time in America’s history.

A selection of photographs from Mark Powers’ ongoing series will be on view at Magnum Photos’ Print Room in London from the 8th of January to the 3rd of April, 2020.