Photo © Emma Backer
Creative - NOMINEE: Emma Backer
Beauty in the Damaged
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At first glance one might be horrified by the history of Dead Horse Bay. The beach received its name in the 1850s when it was the final destination of New York City’s carriage horses. The carcasses were delivered by barge to the bone boiling plants and processed into glue and fertilizers. There were complaints of smells wafting miles away. Once automobiles replaced the horses the plants were closed and the land fell into disarray.
In the 1930s Dead Horse Bay became the main disposal for garbage from New York City. The landfill was capped some year’s prior but the cap burst in the 1950s causing trash to spew on to the beach and into the ocean.
Although seemingly filled with trash its hard not to appreciate the unique sound of the waves, like synchronized wind chimes. Stepping onto the beach gives the impression of stepping back into time, becoming an archeologist analyzing the objects of generations past. One can find bottles, some intact but most broken from over 100 years ago, leather soles, eye glasses and synthetic nylon stockings.
All objects have been gathered over the course of the last two years at Dead Horse Bay. Using the traditional motifs of Dutch Vanitas paintings each object is displayed with methodically dried flowers to convey the passage of time and inevitability of death. The bright, modern tones throughout the images emphasize the relevance of these objects in today's society and culture.
About author:
Emma is a Pittsburgh native who fell in love with photography as a young child at summer camp and succeeded in making it her profession. She went to Rochester Institute of Technology where she graduated with a BFA in fine art photography and art history. Since moving to New York City 9 years ago Emma has been able to use her photography background working at artist agencies, as a freelance photo editor and currently at Shutterstock as a Sr. Manager of Content Operations. Any free time that she has is spent going to art galleries, museums and photographing in the makeshift studio that she set up in the corner of her living room.
Her photographs have been shown at Rabbithole Projects, Humanity Gallery and 1650 Gallery.
In the 1930s Dead Horse Bay became the main disposal for garbage from New York City. The landfill was capped some year’s prior but the cap burst in the 1950s causing trash to spew on to the beach and into the ocean.
Although seemingly filled with trash its hard not to appreciate the unique sound of the waves, like synchronized wind chimes. Stepping onto the beach gives the impression of stepping back into time, becoming an archeologist analyzing the objects of generations past. One can find bottles, some intact but most broken from over 100 years ago, leather soles, eye glasses and synthetic nylon stockings.
All objects have been gathered over the course of the last two years at Dead Horse Bay. Using the traditional motifs of Dutch Vanitas paintings each object is displayed with methodically dried flowers to convey the passage of time and inevitability of death. The bright, modern tones throughout the images emphasize the relevance of these objects in today's society and culture.
About author:
Emma is a Pittsburgh native who fell in love with photography as a young child at summer camp and succeeded in making it her profession. She went to Rochester Institute of Technology where she graduated with a BFA in fine art photography and art history. Since moving to New York City 9 years ago Emma has been able to use her photography background working at artist agencies, as a freelance photo editor and currently at Shutterstock as a Sr. Manager of Content Operations. Any free time that she has is spent going to art galleries, museums and photographing in the makeshift studio that she set up in the corner of her living room.
Her photographs have been shown at Rabbithole Projects, Humanity Gallery and 1650 Gallery.