Where They Are
Where They Are is a self-published zine dedicated to documenting people. How we respond to paradigm shifts, how we exist. Volume 1 is entirely dedicated to my hometowen: Waterford, Michigan, and the way the pandemic morphed the relationship with the places that make up this town and its residents.
Concept Exploration
In an attempt to document the changes in my hometown due to the pandemic, I started with documenting my own experiences. I made note of how people interacted differently with the places around them. I visited places like the beaches, parks, businesses, schools, the library — all in an attempt to take in the difference between my memory and now. Using those memories and experiences as inspiration, I wrote. I wrote based on each location and allowed each physical place the opportunity to have its own perspective. For each location, I screenprinted a banner with an omnicient statement, and posted them for people to read and meditate on.
In an attempt to document the changes in my hometown due to the pandemic, I started with documenting my own experiences. I made note of how people interacted differently with the places around them. I visited places like the beaches, parks, businesses, schools, the library — all in an attempt to take in the difference between my memory and now. Using those memories and experiences as inspiration, I wrote. I wrote based on each location and allowed each physical place the opportunity to have its own perspective. For each location, I screenprinted a banner with an omnicient statement, and posted them for people to read and meditate on.
In a park that opened for the first time in a year and a half, I posted a greeting to those walking the footpaths that had been all but abandoned.
At Waterford's historical park, I watched my own son sit at the dock and feed the ducks and fish, a sentiment that was my own core memory I shared with my father.
I even attempted a cheeky joke, posting a sentiment of patience in a place that has infamously sat vacant for 15 years. While a dozen different businesses planted their flag in the lot, us citizens can only laugh.
At Waterford's boardwalk, I posted a statement of optimism, acknowledging the canceled events due to not only the pandemic, but the record flooding our town endured.
At the crosswalk between the elementary and middle schools, I posted a statement to acknowledge that like the students, the two years of us all being home were an opportunity for us all to learn.
At the space between our library and cemetery, I posted an ambiguous statement to acknowledge that no matter where we look, loss has been part of our journey.
At one of Waterford's beaches, I posted a declaration acknowledging how important it was that there were footprints in the sand again, evidence that people were again occupying these places.
Outcome
To document the project, I took photos of each banner in its location, and paired it with the writing each place inspired me to write. The whole project culminated in a self-published zine, Where They Are. This is the first of a series dedicated to documenting places and their people. See below for the final printed product. If you’d like a copy, feel free to reach out to me. I’ll gladly pass one along.
To document the project, I took photos of each banner in its location, and paired it with the writing each place inspired me to write. The whole project culminated in a self-published zine, Where They Are. This is the first of a series dedicated to documenting places and their people. See below for the final printed product. If you’d like a copy, feel free to reach out to me. I’ll gladly pass one along.