East On Lombard
During the Summer of 2020, protests against police brutality erupted around America,
ignited by the police murder of George Floyd. For a multitude of reasons, Portland, OR
became an epicenter for this outrage. For over 100 nights straight, protesters were
met with walls of riot police clad in military camouflage and gas masks, and subjected
to amounts of tear gas, munitions, and joyous violence at scales unfathomable to those who could
only glimpse fragments from afar.
In these photographs, I attempt to reconstruct the most traumatic experiences I
endured and witnessed during this time period. Adjusting back to a regular and creative life after this
episode in Portland’s history has often felt impossible. These feelings have been felt by all who stood
shoulder to shoulder over the course of 100+ nights, and for some, became too much to bear.
Rather than continuing to repress the pain I have since been living with, I chose to actively
relive the memories associated with my trauma as closely as I could. Photography became
a tool for my own therapeutic purpose. I constructed each photograph in a studio setting,
spending hours building scenes that captured the visual and atmospheric reflections left with me.
The scenes I created placed me both physically and emotionally into the sources of my trauma.
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