Going on a journey taking in all 50 of America’s states sounds like fun. Ticking off all 50 in 30 days sounds like the plot for a screwball comedy. Brit photographer Mark Chilvers took up the challenge after being invited by American Airlines to join a whistlestop tour of the USA, coming out the other side with a big sleep deficit but a load of great memories and some exceptional photographs.
American Faces and Places is Chilvers’ collection of portraits from the trip, completed early last year, featuring the good people of the USA in their natural habitat. Among the characters he encountered are an astronaut, a rodeo rider and an Olympian – a diverse bunch at first glance but united in their friendliness towards the artist and his travelling companions (a journalist and a filmmaker were also along for the ride). London hotel Le Méridien Picadilly is hosting the exhibition from 29 January to 28 February in its Terrace Grill & Bar, and to accompany the show during its duration there will be a delicious-sounding All-American Afternoon Tea and a couple of specially-created cocktails.
© Mark Chilvers
