"Essentially Empty"
There are a few businesses that have been dubbed essential during COVID-19.
Gas stations cannot close down, neither can banks or grocery stores.
But what if there is an excess amount of gasoline with nowhere to go?
In rural Maryland and Virginia farmers are facing the same problem. They have excess surplus of crops with no place to sell them since their main hospitality buyers are shut down. Business is on hold, as are the majority of drivers.
My project was to capture gas stations and their east coast intricacies but also their consistent lack of traffic. The lack of movement. The silence that adapts to small farm towns south of suburbia. Many of these gas stations are older and for sale yet their pumps work perfectly fine. I have noticed the culture in architecture that really makes up these old towns partly due to gas stations and churches.
When businesses are closed and people stay off the road, the air is clearer. The stars are more visible. The details begin to speak louder. I was able to see the paint chipping off signs, deteriorating pumps become works of art. Sometimes people are distractions from each other and from the rest of the world but the virus has shown the beauty in slowing down. Historic artifacts are in a resting period.