In 1928 the Ford Motor Company established the town of Fordlândia in the Brazilian Amazon. For the company the town was to act as basic housing and support for a rubber plantation. For Henry Ford it was an opportunity to recreate the vision of America his career had made antiquated; the small, rural town like the one he grew up in. In Fordlândia his demands included the building of a schoolhouse, a power plant, a movie theater and golf course. Roads were paved and red fire hydrants imported from Detroit. Brazilian workers were fed American food and followed American customs, including prohibition. Before long, the workers revolted and crops failed. Immediately after Henry Ford's death in 1947 the land was sold back to Brazil and his Amazon utopia was quickly abandoned.
Scott Chandler's images explore the remnants of Fordlândia and its remaining settlements.They reflect a sense of loss, failure and desolation.


Scott Chandler is a recent MFA graduate from Concordia University.In 2008,he exhibited at Gallery 44 inToronto.In 2009,he was awarded the Roloff Benny Fellowship in Photography for his thesis project Fordlandia and exhibited at the Art Gallery of Peel in Brampton, Ontario. In 2011, he was awarded the Jurors' Choice in the Project Competition by Center in Santa Fe. He currently lives and works in Montreal.familiar due to the absence of landmarks: although figurative, they remain unlocatable.

Image:
Untitled, Fordlândia, digital chromogenic print, 30 x 37.5 in, 2011, edition of 5