Michael Mergen: Epilogue to Mars [FotoFocus Biennial]

In 1995, Michael Mergen and his then best friend Marshall “Mars” Bredt drove cross-country, covering more than 11,000 miles over six weeks. A year later, Brendt was dead from a heroin overdose. In this body of work, Mergen returns to places they visited more than 20 years ago and places snapshots on the sites where they were taken—presenting archival photographs imposed on contemporary landscapes. In the search for his friend and himself, these re-created landscapes feel both familiar and new. How does one serve as the sole caretaker of shared memories? The series of work considers what remains of a road trip, of a friendship, of memories, and of loss.