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TWENTYSIX WAWA STORES
eric weeks
Jan 22, 2022
ERIC WEEKS
January 22 — May 28, 2022
In reference to Edward Ruscha’s quietly contemplative Twentysix Gasoline Stations, published in 1962, Twentysix Wawa Stores is a film, print, and artist‘s book project documenting the convenience store and gas purveyor Wawa. Throughout the film, Wawa store locations along the Lincoln Highway are unobtrusively observed, starting in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and culminating at the farthest north site in Elizabeth, New Jersey. This transcontinental road, established in 1913 as the automobile became the dominant means of transportation, remains a primary regional and interstate artery.
Eric Weeks’ practice considers the profound technological and cultural shifts in the Northeast of the United States. Twentysix Gasoline Stations asks the viewer to consider a crossroads: the use of internal combustion engines in transportation vehicles is ending, and convenience stores based on fossil fuel sales will need to adapt.
The film was shot during the Covid-19 pandemic, documenting a particular time when masks were necessary to enter stores, and oftentimes two trips were required to retrieve a forgotten mask left in the car.
This project was made possible in part by a generous faculty development grant from the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design.
To see more of Eric’s work please visit www.ericweeksphoto.com and www.streetroad.org/twentysixwawastores.
The Twentysix Wawa Stores book can be purchased at https://www.ericweeksphoto.com/twentysix-wawa-stores-3
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