Washington Monument, Washington D.C.
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Barringer Crater, Winslow, Arizona
Archival pigment print, 136,5 x 180 cm
Calvary Cemetery, Queens, New York
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Fort Valley, Arizona
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon Village, Arizona
Archival pigment print, 70 x 91.5 cm
Rachel Carson pond, New Harbor, Maine
Archival pigment print, 70 x 91.5 cm
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, New Harbor, Maine
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Route 66 (Chief Yellowhorse Trading Post), Lupton, Arizona
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Cow, Central Oklahoma
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Virginia Monument, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Heather Heyer Way, Charlottesville, Virginia
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Ravens Roost Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Irish Creek Valley View, Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Moss Glen Falls, Stowe, Vermont
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Trump, Highway 412, Oklahoma
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Billionaires’ Row, Central Park, New York
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Softball, Groton, Vermont
Archival pigment print, 70 x 91.5 cm
Jaime’s Scrapyard, Highway 412, Oklahoma
Archival pigment print, 70 x 91.5 cm
Top Dog, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Rocky Steps, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Cave of the Winds, Niagara Falls, New York
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Jasper Forest, Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Plum Bayou Mounds, Scott, Arkansas
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
The Angle, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Praying Hands, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Steven, Highway 412, Oklahoma
Archival pigment print, 70 x 91.5 cm
Saguaro, Saguaro National Park, Arizona
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
Election Day, Tombstone, Arizona
Archival pigment print, 29 x 36.5 cm
The work Amerikabilder was created while traveling the United States in the weeks leading up to the 2024 presidential election. As a teenager, I had spent a year living there, and now I was returning for the first time. The photographs show landscapes between the Northeast in Maine and the Southwest in Arizona.
The weather was almost entirely sunny, it rained only once during the whole trip. Overall, the atmosphere seemed unexpectedly calm, an impression that stood in stark contrast to the tension conveyed by the news. In personal encounters, politics was rarely talked about, only the small signs on the side of the road revealed the upcoming election.
The title draws on the ideas of America shaped by a German teenager in the 1990s: A place of longing, with vast landscapes and seemingly unlimited possibilities. Photography became a way to relate these early impressions to my immediate experiences and to the gravity of the political moment.
Exhibition
SWING BY 9 – Poolhaus-Preis für junge Kunst 2026
Chika Aruga and Henning Rogge
March 14 – 27
Poolhaus Blankenese
Grotiusweg 55
D-22587 Hamburg
Opening: March 14, 7 pm
Closing Ceremony: March 27, 7 pm
Visits at other times are only possible by appointment:
mail@henningrogge.de
poolhaus-blankenese.de
SWING BY 9 – Poolhaus-Preis für junge Kunst 2026
chika-aruga.com