These photos of strangers at crossroads are a metaphor for life and politics

CNN — According to the legend, American blues singer Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil at a crossroads, in exchange for otherworldly musical talent. “The story of Robert Johnson selling his soul at a crossroads inspired me from the start,” Kellett said in a phone interview. Oli Kellett His first photo in the series is of a woman standing at an intersection on LA’s Figueroa Street a week before the 2016 US presidential election. The image of the woman standing at the junction, a week before election day was “like the country being at a crossroads and looking in different directions.” A woman waits in Chicago's Grand Ave. Oli Kellett After that shot, Kellett started making trips to various US cities, 10 days at a time, to take pictures of people at urban intersections. Oli Kellett Solitary, pensive passersby make up the bulk of the subjects, but some images have larger groups of people, such as one depicting a seemingly carefree family, perhaps on holiday, in Chicago’s Hubbard Street.