In the 1980s, Jamel Shabazz roamed the streets of his native New York to photograph the young black people he met. Twenty years later, the photographer realized that these optimistic and carefree images were actually recounting a bygone era, the one that preceded the ravages of the crack epidemic and the war on drugs. In 2005 he published a first book on the subject, A Time Before Crackrecently redesigned and reissued at powerHouse.
«Fly Girls». Midtown. Circa 1985. | Jamel Shabazz
“The purpose of this project was primarily to provide the current generation with a glimpse of life in New York before the crack epidemic hit the city. Many young people born in the 1990s and 2000s really had no idea what life was like then. So I wanted to shed some light on a hot topic. The women in this photo are all local high school girls that I have befriended and mentored. At the time, women boasted of being feminine and distinguished in their demeanor. It was very common in the 1980s to see women wearing high-heeled shoes to attend high school. Today, I am still a close friend to each of them.”
«Deep Thinker», Flatbush district of Brooklyn, in 1981. | Jamel Shabazz
“For this book, which began in January 2021, I selected images from my extensive archive that were directly related to the subject. In my creative process, I selected images of former crack dealers or individuals directly affected by the epidemic. To protect their identity, there are no captions, as it was not my intention to expose or harm anyone.”
«Fly Girls», quartier Flatbush de Brooklyn, 1981. | Jamel Shabazz
“The project has changed dramatically over time. My initial concept was to include only twenty new images from the previous book and a new text. But the publisher informed me that they no longer had the original photographs from the first printing, so we had to start all over again.”
“Busted”, Downtown Brooklyn, in 1982. | Jamel Shabazz
“The vast majority of the photographs in the book were taken with a Canon AE 1.35mm camera. I used a combination of color and black and white film. The photographs were taken mainly in Brooklyn and Manhattan, from 1980 to 1986. Like this one, taken in Downtown Brooklyn in 1982. I like it because it represents for me the time when, in New York, a large number of women were arrested and imprisoned.”
«The Brothers». | Jamel Shabazz
“My work has been well received by various audiences both here in this country and surprisingly in many countries outside of the United States. Those who are most enthusiastic are those who appear in my work and who come to show these images to their children. However, there was some disappointment because the quality of the first version of the book – now hard to find – was much better, in terms of the quality of the paper used and the vividness of the colors.
«Manchild». , Jamel Shabazz
“This photograph was taken in a subway station in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn in 1981. For me, it represents a young child caught in the middle of an uncertain world. In his eyes you see fear and the desire to be saved from his current environment. Unfortunately I will never see him again. With rare exceptions, I know most of the stories behind each person photographed. All were victims of the sale or use of crack. Some young men have spent more than three decades in prison due to the war on drugs and their involvement in trafficking. Unfortunately, there are a number of photographs of people who became addicted and endured very difficult ordeals for much of the 1980s and 1990s. The good news is that everyone who was addicted back then completely recovered, but are now dealing with the post-traumatic stress that accompanied this destructive lifestyle.”
«Errol». Brooklyn, en 1980. | Jamel Shabazz
“Errol was a close friend of the mines who was brutally murdered in the 1980s. He started out as a promising photographer in my neighborhood, but he put the camera down to get into the drug trade. I consider my role at the time to be almost chemistry. I had the ability to freeze time.
2023-01-18 08:00:00
#York #Life #Crack
