Details
Photograph
15.75 × 19.69 in
40 x 50 cm
Sleeping Giant | 11101 Rezoned
A neighborhood transformed by development is the central theme of this ongoing series. Living and working in and around Long Island City’s defunct factories and industrial yards, where buildings are being razed and rebuilt into luxury co-ops at a head-spinning rate, I witness the methodical eradication of a working class way of life. I find myself dismayed by the quick progression of high-rises that are erupting skyward along the waterfront; quickly, inevitably obliterating the view of Manhattan beyond. And yet, I find myself drawn first visually then socio-politically to the power these monoliths project set beside the defunct factories and old tenements: immense size versus outdated design, financial power versus fixed-income strongholds, and new possibilities versus old ideals.
For me, these images function not only as a record and homage to a vanishing place and time, but as metaphors for the workingman’s dilemma. They search for a dialogue between subjugation and advancement, and seek to illustrate the often unsung sacrifices that are made in the interest of progress.
15.75 × 19.69 in
40 x 50 cm
Sleeping Giant | 11101 Rezoned
A neighborhood transformed by development is the central theme of this ongoing series. Living and working in and around Long Island City’s defunct factories and industrial yards, where buildings are being razed and rebuilt into luxury co-ops at a head-spinning rate, I witness the methodical eradication of a working class way of life. I find myself dismayed by the quick progression of high-rises that are erupting skyward along the waterfront; quickly, inevitably obliterating the view of Manhattan beyond. And yet, I find myself drawn first visually then socio-politically to the power these monoliths project set beside the defunct factories and old tenements: immense size versus outdated design, financial power versus fixed-income strongholds, and new possibilities versus old ideals.
For me, these images function not only as a record and homage to a vanishing place and time, but as metaphors for the workingman’s dilemma. They search for a dialogue between subjugation and advancement, and seek to illustrate the often unsung sacrifices that are made in the interest of progress.