URBAN MOSAIC

2012​ 

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As a newcomer in the city, I shot all streets of Manhattan from State Street to 220th street, in order to capture the city through photographs of details of walls. I was looking for colors, different materials, cracks, graffiti and anomalies. All kind of details that caught my attention as a photographer and which give New York its personality. This approach had the purpose for me to get familiar with a new place where I was supposed to live by absorbing it. The city became mine through the photographs I captured.

 

From 2008 to beginning of 2012, I collected about 4,500 pieces. The photographs highlight the intricate details of the walls that surround us, including the locks on doors, creative street numbers, brick and mortar pattern, and colors, all of which are manifestation of an artistic expression.

 

The walls of a city are usually silent. But if you get a bit closer to them and if you look at them attentively, you will see that they have a lot to reveal. In the Lower East Side the walls are more damaged and colorful, while the Upper East Side portraits more high quality materials with natural colors. Going through the streets of busy Manhattan and observing the walls allows me to understand the nature of the different parts of the city with its glories and downsides.The city exposes itself in front of my eyes: it makes me sometimes laugh or gnash my teeth, it impresses me, but also makes me tremble.

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