Interpreting New York’s authenticity is a challenge. New buildings reshape the city’s ever-changing facade, creating an eerie landscape that juxtaposes the old and the new, the established and the intruder. This dynamic tension is reflected in lifestyles as well. New Yorkers express a connection to their environment through appearance, and appearance in many ways communicates and identifies one’s lifestyle (or the lifestyle one desires) to others.  I’m interested in how New Yorkers forge a sense of self by speaking in cultural symbols that construct a personal identity.  These photographs are a record of a few New Yorkers that I’ve come across in my own day-to-day life.

This project was a commission completed for the illy issimo and School of Visual Arts AuthentiCity competition.