Jefferson Avenue, The Flats, Cleveland 2002

Andrew Borowiec made this silver gelatin print, Jefferson Avenue, The Flats, Cleveland. The grayscale tones evoke an almost dreamlike state. A landscape in slow motion, like a memory fading at the edges. I am immediately drawn to the puddles in the foreground. They're like informal brushstrokes on the landscape. They also function as natural mirrors, reflecting the pale sky above. Think about the physical qualities of the print itself. Gelatin silver prints have this amazing capacity to hold fine detail. Here, it captures the gritty texture of the industrial landscape. This piece speaks to me about resilience and the beauty of decay. There is something deeply melancholic, yet quietly hopeful, about it. Borowiec’s perspective reminds me of some of the early work by the New Topographics photographers, like Robert Adams, who also found beauty in the banal. Ultimately, this photograph invites us to find our own story in its stillness.