The friends who tried to escape their demons on an all…

Hitchhike US — When photographer and publisher Stanislav headed Stateside for a road trip with his best friend, H, it was an adventure that became a hopeless attempt to escape the clutches of her struggle with anorexia. Life on the Road, a DIY photobook that documents their journey, is out now.

At some point in our lives, we’ve all wanted to hit the ground running, and not look back. A sense of adventure is ingrained in us, and the fantasy of spending your life on the open road has been chronicled by authors, artists and thinkers for decades.

Through accounts of their lives we’ve ridden with Hunter Thompson and the Hells Angels, gone on an acid trip with Tom Wolfe, and gazed at the sun setting in the back of a pickup truck with Jack Kerouac. Huckleberry Finn’s own sense of urgency to escape the confines of sivilized folk is what inspired this very magazine in the first place.

The cliché of the American dream and the quest to live vicariously through the literary heroes of the beat generation is what inspired best friends and confidants Stanislav and H to leave the comfort of their homeland to Hitchhike across the USA, documenting their travels as they went.

The journey was one that most wanderers dream about their whole lives; camping under the stars, chewing on wild mushrooms, stuffing their faces with McDonald’s and crashing in cheap motels. They met weird and wonderful people who restored their faith in the kindness of strangers, and their lived experience ultimately lead to them to (self)publish a book about the lessons they learnt along the way.

An intimate story of friendship and adventure, the book also documents how H’s struggle with anorexia served as the backdrop to the need for a new discovery. The duo’s journey to the States was not just one to fulfil their expectations of the all-American road trip, but also a hopeless attempt for H to escape her demons.

The book itself is a collection of images of their life off the beaten track, which also features interweaving poetry that they wrote based on the diaries they kept. All in all, it acts as a true representation of what it really means to take the road less travelled, and shows the journey of two friends who just wanted to do something worthwhile.

Hitchhike US launches 4 October 2016 and is available through Stanislavs publishing platform BFLPMSVZ.

A pop up exhibition of the images takes place at Dalston’s Doomed Gallery on 4th October, 6-9pm.

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Written by: Isaac Muk