On Exteriors and Interiors of a Pandemic

Exteriors and Interiors of a Pandemic was started in late February 2020 as a series of photographs of New York City as the Covid-19 pandemic was spreading fast and clearly heading for the Big Apple. Soon I was photographing the effects of the pandemic in the landscape of New York City. It was truly shocking as I was riding my bike from my apartment in the Bronx, to Times Square and then on to Brooklyn, to see the streets of New York City deserted. After all, this is the city that never sleeps. Photographing in these conditions, it was as if The Decisive Moment that Henri Cartier-Bresson spoke of, had all but vanished. What remained was the empty landscape.

Given the psychological impact of the lockdowns and the resulting social isolation, it was inevitable that over the course of these two years of the Pandemic, this series of images would become a reflection of not just the outside world but also a record of my interior thoughts and feelings. I welcomed this because it was a way of coping but also an opportunity to channel the anxiety into a creative body of work.

Coming soon after and on the heels of the health crisis and of the unspeakable death and loss during the pandemic, the uprising against racism erupted. As many as 26 million people in the US demonstrated against the murder of George Floyd during the height of the pandemic. In this series of images, the pandemic and the anti-racist rebellion merged into one. And for good reason, as I think we will look back at this time through this lens. As a time of profound crisis and of powerful resistance.

Finally these images are an homage to New York City. In these 100 frames I revisit the subway stations, the streets and the parks of my home for 31 years, in a search for solace but also in what became a process of rediscovery. The lockdown forced the city to ground to a halt. The rat-race was suspended and there was time to finally look and really see the city.