New York City is my home. Leaving was never an option.

 

From the Outside Looking In is a series of 94 portraits focused on connection in a time of isolation and the commonality of quarantine in the first U.S. epicenter of the coronavirus global pandemic, NYC. 

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But it’s more than that.

 

March 21, the day after lockdown was announced and the day before it began, I began riding my bike (for the first time ever) through the city taking portraits with gloves, two masks, hand sanitizer, Lysol, a bike helmet and paranoia (doubling as my grocery store attire). Everything has been a blur, shooting through the peak, down the mountain and cycling into what felt like a never-ending Sunday. Death was always on my mind as well as the guilt of not Staying Home.

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This series navigates the “new normals” we have been forced to adapt to. Safety dictates subjects must be captured at least six-feet away. When we all are potential viral carriers, movement, proximity and contact all take on new meaning. Everywhere is potentially life-threatening and still, life continues on. Humanity is both our fragility and our strength. 

 

This drastically new dystopian reality gives new identity to isolation. Yet this city, my city, has shown me through new icons & symbols combined with pure New York identifiers, it remains beautiful & true, even from a distance. Resilience, adaptability, and above all else, love, define New York City.

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You never abandon your home.

 

*This series was paused on June 2, 2020 to commit fully to affirming Black Lives Matter. 

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