These photographs were taken in the apartment building that myself and all of my closest friends lived in, around 2014-15. Located in the center of Manchester, New Hampshire, the building had apparently been a monastery for one of the nearby churches originally. The place my friends Lea and Gustan had was the biggest, with antique porcelain sinks and vanities in every bedroom, and a staircase to nowhere (the access to the third floor had been closed off when the building was divided into separate units). Within those old brick walls we made music, dyed clothing, screen printed tee shirts, and painted. We developed a sort of "art family" separate from our blood families. Today, our lives have been spread across multiple states while we inch closer to the next decade, but thanks to the years these photos immortalize, our bonds have not frayed.
I think it is important to acknowledge the occasional blurred photo, or crooked horizon. In the moment those photos were captured, I initially threw those out, immediately labeling them as bad shots. It was only years later that, upon looking at them, came to new realizations about them. One was one of the best images of my beloved tiny kitchen that I have, a rare snap shot of Simone as a kitten, and Claire at a very pivotal part of her life, all in one frame. What was once the focus is now less important (they are still aspects of the present), and the environment long past is brought into crisper focus. Another is a blurred drag on a cigarette in between batches of clothes being dyed, in preparation for a silk screen session. Another is a moment of quiet contemplation after having first moved into a new dwelling.
