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Nearly 20 years ago, the Romanian government funded the construction of 400 school gyms specifically for physical education. Yet many of them were never used. The reason is simple: they were built too far from the schools, leaving students with an impractically long walk just to attend a sports class. This is a situation common across rural areas, and what is deeply troubling is that decades have passed without anyone taking steps to address it. It’s difficult to comprehend why these sports halls were ever built this way.

In the project American Night, artist Paul Graham presents the images in a high-key or over saturated manner to suggest the political invisibility and social blindness surrounding poverty and racism in America. In a similar vein, it would be fitting to render the image of this sports hall as an allegory – echoing the Romanian fairy tale expression: “You can stare at the sun, but not at her”. Buildings like this one remain ignored and stripped of any purpose, simply because politicians have no interest in acknowledging their existence.