By Land, By Sea
Comprised of a Cold War superpower and an outpost of the British Empire, Anglo-America is the westernmost front of Western civilization. Stretching from arctic to sub-tropical latitudes and straddling the world's longest non-militarized border, the geo-cultural bloc of Canada and the United States occupies a curious meanwhile between illustrious past and uncertainty. By Land, By Sea is a two-part survey of this vast territory: one part follows rail lines across the continent, and the other traces a geographic contour around it. It embodies the contradictory narratives of romantic expansionism and post-colonial, post-industrial malaise. It embraces both critique and wide-eyed wonder.
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By Rail considers the armature these nations rose up on; immigrants, robber barons, bi-coastalism, and the dislocation of natives all shape its mythology. European tracks connect historic centres, but many North American cities evolved out of whistle-stops. Very much a product of railways, the culture's present coolness to them is unique among developed nations. Deutsche Bahn is reaping record profits, there's no conflict between Bullet Trains and Toyota's market dominance, and China has embarked on a vast rail overhaul. Here railways are emblematic of our most ambitious, albeit fraught, golden age and of the potential we love to ignore.
By Sea anticipates nostalgia for this present moment, a coda to our golden age. It surveys the perimeter of a dominion that begins and ends at sea level. This civilization commenced when Europeans stepped ashore to re-imagine everything between three coasts; the coming era will play out in terms of climate change, sea level rise, and paradigmatic shifts in global power.