French photographer Aurélien Lulah Ferreira captures a New York with people living lives parallel to the American Dream.
Living on the fringes of the ‘World City.’
One of the most visited and famous places on Earth is no longer in the hearts of its own people. Ask a native New Yorker about Manhattan, and they’ll tell you: “That’s not New York.” The real NY is scattered across the four outer boroughs—the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. This is where successive waves of immigration have shaped the face of the nation’s most densely populated metropolis. It is this essence that I seek to give a face to.
Yet, the Big Apple is emerging from a period where its population has crumbled and fled – partly due to the COVID crisis, but primarily under the crushing weight of financial pressure, rising taxes, and skyrocketing rents. Living in NY has become a luxury; its people are being pushed further and further from the radiant epicenter of Manhattan.
Mirroring a fragile and divided America, I found the face of a city stunned but resilient. I found it by diving deep into the subway and getting lost on giant avenues where pick-up trucks remain kings and ‘dollar menus’ have vanished, much to the dismay of those for whom they were a lifeline. Through chance encounters and wanderings, I open a door to a society living in parallel with the American Dream, yet more attached than ever to its ‘Yankee’ identity.
Aurélien Ferreira is a French photographer whose work is at the crossroads of street photography and documentary. His work carries the imprint of hip-hop culture, the 90s generation, and a sense of spontaneity borrowed from humanist photography.
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