Click images to enlarge.
During the very early stages of the ongoing pandemic, I set out to capture Airport Blvd—6.6-miles of pavement that intersects a large swath of greater East Austin, passes through an airport turned mixed-used development, and across I-35 where it comes to an end.
It’s one of many corridors in a sprawling, Southern city—a city in which access to transportation becomes a prerequisite to accessing employment, food, health care, education, and entertainment.
For those unfamiliar with Austin, East Austin is a historically black neighborhood that has undergone aggressive gentrification in the last decade. Airport Blvd serves as a frontier of sorts where that gentrification is audaciously pushing forward.
As the city continues to grapple with COVID-19, the landscape that exists along Airport reveals both the shared and vastly different experiences of the various communities that live and work along this segmented strip of pavement.
Palm trees and agave, used car lots and taco trucks give way to cedar and oak, luxury apartments and manicured lawns.
“WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER” reads a McDonald’s placard in front of a temporarily vacant play castle. But as Erik, a resident of the Bel-Aire Mobile Home Park explains “They’re forcing out mom and pop businesses for Quick-E-Marts and fast food chains”.
Slowing down to examine this diverse landscape, the structures that house us take on elevated importance as they become a microcosm for the individual’s experience of this pandemic. More than ever, the spaces we inhabit have become mirrors—reflecting vulnerability, strength, and everything in between.
At the same time, with each day we are isolated from friends, family, and strangers, our collective memory of this unique moment in history grows.
Airport Blvd, the asphalt roadway, will not change as a result of this crisis. The individuals and communities that live along it will never be the same.
- - -
I created most of these images between March and May of 2020. Dawning a mask, gloves, and copious amounts of hand sanitizer, I walked up and down Airport hoping to tell a story about people, without engaging with people.*
I was looking at a lot of different work at the time but kept coming back to Amanda Boe’s body of work Silver Lining for inspiration. I gravitated to her beautiful use of light as well as her ability to pair portraiture with cityscapes.
Looking back at my images, it’s clear that I could have thought more intentionally about light as I went out to shoot. I also would have loved to include more portraiture, but during the months I was creating this work it felt inconsiderate and potentially unsafe for me to approach strangers—I wasn’t even seeing my friends at the time.
Sometimes inspiration comes in waves, other times it’s a spark that doesn’t necessarily come back—the latter was the case for this project. But I’m okay with that. While I see what I could have done differently with this series, I wanted to share it because while it might not be the most polished body of work I’ve ever created, I really like where it stands and what I think the images communicate.
The process of making and sequencing the images to build a narrative was still one I’m glad I invested my time and creative energy into. I learned a lot and will forever have a special connection to this unique stretch of pavement.
Enjoy! Let me know what you think: dimitri260@gmail.com
*I did get permission (from a distance) to photograph the Bel-Aire Mobile Home Park. I spoke with the manager of the mobile home park as well as the individual owners of the homes.
“Familia Leon”