A photographic trip through America’s roadside façades

In her ongoing series, The Mother Road, Hayley Eichenbaum documents the tainted romanticism of roadside architecture on Route 66 in the American Southwest

Hayley Eichenbaum, Siesta, part of the series The Mother Road, now on view at Homecoming Gallery
Hayley Eichenbaum, Siesta, part of the series The Mother Road, now on view at Homecoming Gallery
(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum)

There’s a cinematic quality to Hayley Eichenbaum’s The Mother Road, a staged seduction that feels more fitting for a screen than reality. 

Indeed, cinema was one of Eichenbaum’s key influences for the project, specifically the work of Stanley Kubrick. ‘The cinematography and the way he uses geometry is so enticing. I aim to present scenes reminiscent of the classic silver screen. Yet the images are vacant of characters, evoking a sense of mystery and perhaps unsettledness.’

Eichenbaum, who is planning to release a book next year, is an artist who knows the American highway system inside out. She’s driven the iconic Route 66 – which runs from Chicago to Santa Monica – eight times in the last seven years, becoming ‘addicted’ to the roadside vernacular of the American Southwest. ‘As I slowly made my way along the oldest highway in America, I became attracted to its colourful architecture. It was pretty spectacular to view these structures among the drastically varying climates.’

Tee Pee Curios the mother road

Tee Pee Curios

(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum)

The Mother Road: an American dream on the cusp of decay

The Mother Road is titled after a nickname for Route 66, also holds personal resonance for Eichenbaum. ‘It also became the road that literally connected my mother and me when she was battling ovarian cancer. I would drive the route with my dog from LA to the Midwest, and back again, during her treatment. While I don’t focus much on my driving, there is a literality to the title The Mother Road.’

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Fox Theater, Inglewood, CA. Image © Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, from the book Movie Theaters, published by Prestel 

(Image credit: Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre)

In Eichenbaum’s images, there is an uncanny lack of human presence, but comfort in the roadside neons glow and beckon. Her subjects, pastel-coloured, modernist and minimal; an American dream on the cusp of decay, symbolise a bygone golden era for Route 66.

Hayley eichenbaum sanbernardino, the mother road

San Bernardino

(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum )

The route presents a fading nostalgia that inspires me to document its ever-changing landscape. This part of American society is threatened by capitalism and mass chains, like everywhere else in the world. It's disheartening to see our surroundings become more homogenous as a result.’

The Mother Road, which Eichenbaum began in 2014, is currently on view at the new online-first gallery Homecoming, which aims to make photo art collecting more accessible, diverse and exciting. The online show has been curated by Holly Fraser, director of content at WePresent, and will also be on view during the Amsterdam Affordable Art Fair (until 31 October 2021). 

Eichenbaum’s work is the latest in a series of curations for Homecoming by industry experts. Recently, Wallpaper’s own photography director, Holly Hay, took the reins on a curation for the gallery, which spotlighted work by rising star photographers Deo Suveera and Hugo Yu.

The Blue Swallow, the mother road by Hayley Eichenbaum Route 66

The Blue Swallow

(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum)

Hayley Eichenbaum, Moon Over Santa Monica part of the photography series the mother road

Moon Over Santa Monica

(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum)

Hayley Eichenbaum 29 Palms Route 66 American photography the mother road

29 Palms

(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum)

Hayley Eichenbaum El Reno DonutsHayley Eichenbaum, Siesta, part of the series The Mother Road, now on view at Homecoming Gallery

El Reno Donuts

(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum)

Hayley Eichenbaum Manicured Church Hayley Eichenbaum, Siesta, part of the series The Mother Road, now on view at Homecoming Gallery

Manicured Church

(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum)

Hayley Eichenbaum Lafayette Mall Hayley Eichenbaum, Siesta, part of the series The Mother Road, now on view at Homecoming Gallery

Lafayette Mall

(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum)

Hayley Eichenbaum, Palm Springs Angles, part of the series The Mother Road, now on view at Homecoming Gallery

Palm Springs Angles

(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum)

Hayley Eichenbaum Vacancy part of the series The Mother Road, now on view at Homecoming Gallery

Vacancy

(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum)

Homecoming Gallery Hayley Eichenbaum, Roadrunner Lodge, the mother road

Roadrunner Lodge

(Image credit: Hayley Eichenbaum)

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Harriet Lloyd-Smith is the Arts Editor of Wallpaper*, responsible for the art pages across digital and print, including profiles, exhibition reviews, and contemporary art collaborations. She started at Wallpaper* in 2017 and has written for leading contemporary art publications, auction houses and arts charities, and lectured on review writing and art journalism. When she’s not writing about art, she’s making her own.

With contributions from