Photography

Photographer Captures People With Their Vehicles in Stark Portraits

- by fooshya

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Four women and a small dog pose with a classic red convertible car against a plain white background. Two women stand on each side of the car, while one woman and the dog sit inside the car.
Lulu, accountmanager; Gladys, flebotomist; Alanna, scholar and Cristina, bus driver | Chevrolet. Los Angeles, US

A photographer used a big white background to isolate folks and their vehicles for a venture he calls Homo Mobilis.

Photographer Martin Roemers’ epic work took him all around the world, and he has now launched the venture in ebook kind.

“In Homo Mobilis, I take the vehicle as a way to look at our society today,” Roemers explains.

“The mass motorisation of the 20th century has changed the world dramatically. In recent decades, there has been a shift in thinking about transportation and the era of the polluting combustion engine is coming to an end. The ‘machine age’ is giving way to a new era of mobility.”

It is towards this backdrop that Roemers explores the intricate relationship between people and their automobiles, inspecting how mobility, as a cornerstone of modernity, shapes identities and societies.

“This has resulted in a typology of vehicles with their drivers against a stark white background. This deliberate removal from their usual context invites viewers to contemplate the deeper narratives that these vehicles carry,” Roemers says.

“Vehicles are more than mere modes of transportation; they are powerful symbols of status, culture, and personal identity. A vehicle can be merely functional for some but for others it so much more: it becomes a crucial part of who they are.”

Four stylish young adults pose with a red convertible car against a plain white background; two women stand by the car, one woman sits in the driver’s seat, and a man sits in the passenger seat.
Aïcha, Yvonne, Fatimata and Becaye, automotive gross sales workers. Dakar, Senegal
A man sits in a black car painted with white text advertising "Afghan Carpet House" and carpet cleaning services. The car has large signs on the roof and doors listing services and contact details. The background is plain white.
Abdul, carpet restore man. Premier Padmini (automotive model); Mumbai, India
A colorful Senegalese minibus, decorated with vibrant patterns and text, has six people inside looking out the windows, posed against a plain white background.
Bush taxi, taxi brousse. Mor, bus driver; passengers Ndoube, Aïda, Gora, Abdou and Macoura. Renault. Segeul Thioune, Senegal

The photographer says that by isolating these topics in a impartial area, he goals to “stimulate the viewer to realize that they assign an identity and a certain kind of status to the person in the image based on their vehicle.”

“This project does not only look at the self-identification of the subjects but rather focuses on the observer’s interpretation,” he continues. “The symbiotic relationship between individuals and their vehicles often reflects broader societal dynamics — whether in Europe or North America, Africa or Asia — such as environmental issues, gender or class identity. Through this work, I hope to evoke reflection on our reliance on vehicles and how they have come to be linked to our own and others’ identities.”

A man in a red shirt and hat stands in the bed of a blue pickup truck, holding a rifle. The truck is old and slightly dirty, and the background is plain white.
Dylan, welder, goes looking | Toyota. Wilson, North Carolina, USA
A person in casual clothes and a hat stands beside a black car with the rear door open. Two dogs are inside the car, one sitting in the back seat and the other visible through the window. The background is plain white.
Carl, musician, lives in a automotive | Honda, Santa Monica, California, USA
A man in a yellow vest sits in the driver’s seat of an old blue truck, while another man sits on the truck bed. A small black-and-white dog stands on its hind legs in front of the truck against a white background.
Zenovyl, truck driver and Vasil, assistant. ZIL (truck model). Lviv, Ukraine
A man in black clothes stands holding a chicken beside a red and yellow auto rickshaw fitted with wire cages containing birds, against a plain white background. The vehicle reads "SUNNY CHICKEN" on the side.
Sunny, hen vendor | Bajaj, Nashik, Maharashtra, India
Two people dressed in bold, theatrical outfits pose with a black car on a white background; one leans out the driver’s window, and the other stands outside, resting an arm on the car roof and holding a phone.
Sasha and Brett, drag queens | Toyota, Santa Monica, California, USA
A man and woman with suitcases stand beside a black SUV, parked in front of a large white backdrop on a rooftop. Yellow construction cranes and an unfinished building are visible in the background.
Zirui, plane engineer and Yi, graphic designer Shanghai, China

Book cover for "homo mobilis" by Martin Roemers, featuring a car covered in black paint and white text advertising "Afghan Carpet House," with the themes: People, Vehicles, Identity.

Homo Mobilis is printed by Lannoo Publishers.

Image credit: Photographs by Martin Roemers


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