Kelsey Hill
I am a fifth year here at Pepperdine, I am a student athlete, working toward a mathematics major, and a physics and art minor. A photographer that influenced my work leading up to this project was Martin Parr.
For my final project I wanted to take a deeper look and grapple with an idea that I used to think about all the time as my mom or dad was driving me somewhere in the car. I would always wonder where everyone was going? Ever since I was little, when driving anywhere really, looking out the window and seeing all the different cars and all the different people always caught my attention. I caught myself wondering what is going on in their life? I wonder why they are driving so fast, or so slow? It always reminded me of how small we are, and how often we get wrapped up in our own lives. No matter how complicated we believe our lives to be, other peoples are just as complicated and intricate. Seeing all the different cars and environments people were in always made me think about these things and changed my perspective from being so wrapped up in my world, to wondering what is going on in other peoples. So, I decided to take a drive with some of my friends and teammates, and ask them a series of questions. On each drive I was reminded of how varying everyone's lives and problems were. I asked a few questions to ensure my subjects were a little more comfortable and not as nervous that I was taking photos of them. To my surprise, the majority of people answered my question of “Do you like driving?” with a resounding “Yes!” I found this surprising and after further questions, most people said they enjoy driving alone to get out and think by themselves, in their own space. I wanted my photos to capture the different environments of the cars, and give us a small peek into the varying lives and stories that everyone had. It was interesting to experience everyone's favorite way to drive, with the air on, or the windows down, with loud music, or it softly playing in the background. I wanted to get an inside scoop and address the idea that I used to always wonder about, what was that person's story? It was a good perspective shift for me, and reminded me of just how big the world is, and how small we are, as individuals.
