The umbrellas were shot in Rockaway Beach over the course of four Mondays, starting July 13th, 2020. When I arrived at the beach, it was littered with broken umbrellas and various other “day at the beach” sundry. It had that semi-apocalypse vibe that permeates nowadays but was also joyful in a archaeological way, like discovering the remains of a party or ritual celebration. I assume it was all abandoned because people finally had the chance to drag out their supplies from last year, the two days prior having been the first weekend the beach was open for swimming.
Sunflowers from an untended public school garden in Clinton Hill and a selection of images from a fashion story I did for Document Journal with model Maryel Sousa in July of 2018 populate the rest of the book. The editorial was a “summer for winter” theme, which is strange and maybe not. Doesn’t Australia celebrate Christmas in the middle of summer?
I like the notion of seasonal remainders, they are generally disruptive and untidy. It’s surprising to find something forgotten, replaced or neglected but still hangin’ around. Like that plastic Thanksgiving turkey decor in the basement that just sits there waiting all year for November.
Roe Ethridge, September 13th, 2020