Inner Harbor, Boston
Past, Present, Future. Revolution and Evolution.
Boston, Massachusetts. 6/22/2022.
Summer 2022, a journey of rediscovery.
After two years of disruption, it’s time to reconnect, rediscover and find new inspiration. I began this process in late winter, the first of my staycations where I sought to rediscover my community on foot. It was meaningful to revisit many local sites and find new haunts. Recently, I gave this popular location in East Boston a try.
Within this frame, many glimpses of Boston’s past are seen alongside the present and hints of the future. John Winthrop’s “City Upon a Hill” began as a British Colonial Era port, became known as the birthplace of the American Revolution, and now serves as a 21st century global hub of science and technology. Perhaps the best way to conceptualize this evolving bayside community that is at once historic and modern is to think of a garlic or onion with its many layers. One facet of its centuries long metamorphosis however, is that much of the City Upon a Hill actually sits on top of former salt marsh and tidal flats.
While the economic dynamism of the 21st century is difficult to ignore, new challenges have arisen. Rising sea levels, housing costs, displacement and transportation are all challenges that will have to be met if this community is to continue thriving and evolving. Will a city known for its ingenuity find solutions, or will the sea reclaim what is perhaps the most American of all cities?
A Misty Evergreen. September, 2020.
Boston, Massachusetts.
9/3/2020. An exercise in patience. Weeks of waiting for the right conditions finally yielded the opportunity I’d been waiting for. Every week, one of these enormous vessels departs Qingdao, China, crosses the Pacific and arrives in Boston five weeks later, after making several stops along the route. The Ever Leading (pictured) was built in Geoje, South Korea and has been roaming the world’s oceans since 2012. The sea has always fascinated me and I have long associated ships with adventure and the unknown.
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.