Draw 7: The Mystic River. August 2020.

Chelsea, Massachusetts.

8/7/2020. A difficult year has brought many unwelcome changes for all of us.  The necessities of staying close to home have inspired me to place a renewed focus on an old project: Draw 7.  Draw 7 began in 2013 after my first trip to China, when I sought to continue shooting in the same style I had discovered during my travels.  The roots of this project go back to 2005, to a project I began in college and intended to continue after the completion of the course.  This spring, with the arrival of the onslaught of bad news and disruption, I decided to focus my attention on something close to home and reimagine Draw 7 anew.

Draw 7 is a nocturnal exploration of Greater Boston’s Mystic River and the surrounding environs.  Eventually it will follow both banks of the river from its mouth in East Boston, past Mystic Lakes in Winchester, to its source.  This often overlooked waterway covers a short distance, but encompasses a wide range of settings, from heavy industry to affluent suburbia.  Through this series of images, I hope to illuminate a place where many transit, but not all linger.