Chris D'Amore Photography [006]
Why I've Spent So Much Time In Saugus
First, some photographs from the past few months, then we’ll get to the other stuff.
Mirror Images
Hampton in Winter
Ok, now the thing about Saugus…
Route 1: A Kind of Magic
There’s a strange part of New England that most locals know but nobody talks about. Maybe because it eludes any succinct description, or it just has a vibe that you had to grow up around to understand. After several drafts, this is the best summary I have so far:
The corridor of Route 1 between Saugus and Peabody, MA is a chaotic breeding ground for commercial overdevelopment and high turnover. For the average consumer, it features nearly anything they could possibly want in a cluttered six mile stretch. What was once home to novelty restaurants and odd roadside attractions has now morphed into something else entirely: a brazen display of unfettered capitalism cannibalizing itself in the name of supply and demand. In the fervent process of one business overthrowing another, many don't even attempt to mask what previously existed, leaving behind a Frankensteinian landscape unique to the Greater Boston area.
This is the subject of my next long-term (potentially life-long) project. It will highlight this unique brand of urban sprawl and explore our relationship with contemporary commerce. It’s weird, fun, and kind of like studying a bacterial colony in a giant petri dish.
Recently Featured Works & Shameless Plugs:
Panopticon Gallery’s upcoming show ‘Film Is Not Dead’ starts May 2nd and will be up until June. I’ll have one of my favorite prints up in the show! The opening reception will be Thursday, May 12th from 6pm-8pm.
Saving Daylight Magazine has just released their 3rd issue, and I have a few photos featured in it. It’s an annual publication about seasonal depression and features artists from all over the world. 20% from every order goes to The Loveland Foundation!
My shop is chock-full of magazines, prints, and more waiting to be whisked away by your hard-earned money. Or by a barter of some kind. Let’s talk.
And finally, if you know someone that might be interested in this newsletter, please send it their way!
Sounds From the Studio (what I’ve been listening to while editing/doing layout/etc.):
Archive Dive (a random photograph picked via number generator):
I go back to ROUTE ONE / SAUGUS photos and explanation. Its the area I grew up and Chris' perspective is very interesting to me.