Project Details
Client: Personal project
Date: June 11, 2015
Coney Island is a strange and wonderful place that attracts people from all walks of life. It somehow manages to be a place for wholesome family fun and simultaneously a haven for hedonism. It’s bright and colorful and worn and dingy. This delightful and somewhat strange contrast is part of what makes Coney Island such a magical place. I feel as though it is this kind of texture that attracts me most. Not just the physical texture, which is amazing, but also the social texture created by the many different people that come to Coney Island to find a bit of joy.
For years, Coney has been a getaway for many New Yorkers. In very recent years, however, it has become a hotly contested area. Developers have been buying up property with the intention of building luxury condos and an indoor park. The area seems to be in a kind of limbo awaiting perhaps a destructive change. The New York City government was apparently on board with this change. But many believe this would kill the Coney Island that so many working New Yorkers have enjoyed for years and have come to the defense of the beloved spot. These photographs do not tell this story, although it is the backdrop of much of the work. This series of photographs is simply an attempt to capture a portrait of this beautiful and mythic place.