NASHUA, NH — At age 22, performance artist Greg Hindy set off from Nashua with his camera and camping gear to walk 9,000 miles under a vow of silence. Now, two years later, he will share experiences and photographs from his year-long journey and reflects on how it contributed to his growth as an artist on Jan. 28 as part of the Nashua Public Library’s “Exotic Destinations” series.
Hindy, a Yale graduate who felt led to make the cross-country trek after earning his degree, walked from his home in Nashua to the California coast, toting whatever fit on his push cart – a tent, some meager supplies, a debit card, an old-school field camera and film plates needed to capture his world view.
Once he arrived in California on his birthday, he was met with fanfare from friends and family, there to welcome and retrieve him. But Hindy made the unexpected decision to walk his way back home, rather than fly.
“Someone asked him why he was going to walk home. Greg had a lot of thoughts about it, but his answer was simple. He said, ‘I felt that I had momentum.’ It’s not what anyone was expecting. But it was almost like getting a word from an oracle,” says Greg’s dad, Carl Hindy, a Nashua psychologist who chronicled his son’s journey, from here and back, via a Facebook group page.
Walking Across the United States, by Greg Hindy, will be presented Jan. 28 from 7-8:30 p.m. The program is free and open to the public.