Purity from a Broken Lense
It all began on the Riverline on my way to teach a painting class. On this Riverline, you see all kinds of people. Single mothers, families, addicts, the homeless, and working-class individuals. They all serve some sort of purpose, right? As I look into the eyes of some of these people, I see unhappiness; the kind you feel when you mourn. Mourning the loss of youth. Disconnected from our innocence due to rushed development to become adults and deal with the harsh realities of time. So I started taking photographs and editing them in black and white so that the subject would be the main focus.
Two years later, I’m on the Metro, and I have the pleasure of meeting this lovely couple, also known as the “Vodka Twins”. They stumbled on the train, and the man was a bit irritated, passengers looking at them with judgment as if they were creatures from another planet. They both took a seat & the woman said, “We are not here to hurt anybody,” as she revealed her crooked smile. From there, they told me where they grew up, how they met at the bar, that they share the same birthday, and even how much she loves psychology. We exchanged love and laughs until our departure. With glee and bliss, they waved goodbye.
How they’re remembered
Born January 4th, 1961 in Brooklyn and Raised in Trenton. Luis is the oldest out of three brothers and one sister. He’s family oriented and would do anything to protect them. Back in his day he would work out “Not too big” as he says and boxed for fun. He was known as a heavy hitter in Trenton, those around would ask him “Yo Luis why you hit so hard?” After his hands collapsed, he became heartbroken since this sport was all he knew.
His favorite memories are the days spent helping his dad load trucks and how he encouraged him until the job was done. As well as simply being a kid jumping on the bed with his favorite brother.
Luis is a beautiful soul and unfortunately has become a statistic in the community. However, the innocent little boy still exists at his core.
