I have been making urban-landscape photographs ever since I moved to New York. I notice a constant evolution in my urban environment on a daily basis, old buildings coming down, new ones sprouting up. Through my lens I have seen water towers on the Upper East Side, the statues of Central Park, 5th Ave in Brooklyn, the closed Ellis Island, Red Hook and the Gowanus.
New York changes in patches, one small area at a time and always in motion. East Williamsburg in Brooklyn is such a neigborhood: factories and warehouses are becoming artists' lofts just like soho 40 or so years ago. But the difference with such change in Brooklyn is that it is in Brooklyn, and much of the infrastructure stays the same, residential and commercial alike. The old never really leaves when the new moves in. I moved to East Williamsburg five years ago.
In the photographs the streets are empty because it is about the urban environment, not the people. The habitat represents the population. We are where we live, we all leave a mark: the residents, the developers, the businesses etc.
This is my first documentary project that includes both b&w and color. The theme just implied both. I chose to use a Kiev 6C, a medium format film camera with a 45mm lens. It is bulky and unpredictable, but it feels right. It makes me really pay attention but keeps me mobile. This project is still in progress, and after a two-year stand-still, construction is starting again, so I look forward to many more images as I ride along the streets on my bike.
