Photographer Anastasia Samoylova presents her latest exhibition and photobook, "Atlantic Coast," at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. The project documents a road trip along the old US Route 1 on the East Coast, inspired by Berenice Abbott's 1954 journey. Through her lens, Samoylova captures a country in transition, juxtaposing decaying Americana with modern structures and political commentary, including images of a statue of John C. Calhoun being removed after the George Floyd protests and the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge. She draws parallels between her work and Paul Thomas Anderson's film "One Battle After Another," both centering on road trips and shared anxieties.
The exhibition matters because Samoylova, an immigrant from Russia who witnessed the Soviet Union's collapse and the rise of oligarchs, brings a unique perspective to chronicling contemporary America's social and political tensions. Her work blends documentary style with conceptual art, offering a critical view of the nation's id through recurring images of Florida, where a wire coat hanger bent into a commentary on the state's abortion ban exemplifies her approach. The show, running until March 2026, underscores how photography can capture a country's uncertain future and decaying past, resonating with broader cultural anxieties.