The industrial neighborhood of Gowanus, Brooklyn is currently in an accelerated state of transition. With the recently approved rezoning, countless buildings are being torn down to make way for new condo developments in the inevitable march of gentrification. Since 2019 I have been working on a project documenting the 29 or so Gowanus industrial buildings that have been highlighted for potential landmarking status by the Gowanus Landmarking Coalition, many of which have been or will be affected by the rezoning and subsequent new construction.

Photographed on large format 5x7 dry plate glass negatives, the format is one which would have been used to photograph the buildings when they were first constructed, most of which were built between the 1880’s to 1930’s. The variable and organic nature of the hand poured emulsion helps capture the fragile nature of these buildings, many of which are in disrepair or states of transition.  

My hope is that this series will bring increased awareness to the precarious state many of these buildings face and hopefully help aid the efforts to landmark or otherwise preserve those that can be saved. For the buildings that will inevitably not survive (as many in the series have already been torn down), my goal is to preserve them through photography in a way that both honors the rich history of industrial Brooklyn while conveying the reality of the buildings' current day vulnerability.

A solo exhibtion for this series was held at the Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse, May 7th-29th 2022

Read more about the project and my process in this article in Brooklyn Paper.