Hampden Photographs

I'm from a neighborhood in Baltimore called Hampden. When I was growing up, Hampden was deeply a working class space where generations lived in houses next to each other and most of the neighborhood knew each other from a local business, the Hampden Recreation Center, and bar and social clubs. When I was growing up I heard my dad talk about how he did in darts and we got subs and pizza from his friends carry out restaurant. When I was old enough to play darts, I joined the league, but businesses were starting to turn over. Now the social clubs and dart league are pretty much gone and the majority of local businesses have changed hands.

I began photographing in high school and continued after. I have never stopped watching the evolution of this neighborhood even though over time I found it a bit less interesting. I went to college in southern Maryland and New York City and still came back to Hampden every other weekend. I moved to New Orleans and came back to Hampden. Eventually, I was priced out of Hampden and I thought it was time to edit the work I have done.

I've probably sifted through 30,000 images to get down to 70 for this show. I have many other iterations for a book or multiple books, but this is the first expansive showing of my work.

My postcard features a pink house that I watched over time until it literally was demolished, which I watched, and then built again. The other photograph is of Fox Industries, the building in which the show is being exhibited. I grew up a hill road south of that building.

This exhibit is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council MSAC.org