Drift Shots

After my lifelong cohabitation with HIV was confirmed by the clinic on my block, I felt in some strange & inarticulable way that I had suddenly gained a whole new ancestry—had been strung through with a new lineage. Or at least, one that was new to me. I came to develop a weird kinship with construction sites, demolition zones, spaces in constant flux. Without thinking too hard about why, I started to document them however I could. I took to calling these photos “drift shots” because I generally took them without breaking my stride as I passed. Part of this is because I wanted to preserve that feeling of catching something as it goes by, but an equal part was that small embarrassment I carried about being seen stopping to take pictures of rubble. Some personal favorite Polaroids of my own are in the galleries below, from various geographic corners of my life. I’ll add to the list periodically.