For Rent, 2022

Acrylic, photographic transparency, various hardware, water

For Rent began as a documentation of Brooklyn's empty storefronts—a collection of over two hundred photographs capturing spaces locked behind steel gates and glass, dusty and silent. These images reflect a sense of inaccessibility, a stark contrast to the abundance of space I experienced growing up in rural Vermont, where land was open and ownership felt secondary to community use. In the city, however, space is tightly held, symbolizing a scarcity that reshapes neighborhoods and shifts communal boundaries.

This piece functions both as a record and an intervention. Each acrylic cube encases these photographs, with water flowing through the structure, forming an imagined yet grounded urban landscape. The fluidity of water suggests the potential for change, reimagining these static, walled-off spaces as dynamic and shared. The piece becomes a visual metaphor—a transparent architecture that proposes what could be.

For Rent was developed for the Brooklyn Utopias exhibition, envisioning a future where vacant spaces serve creative and communal purposes, liberated from opacity and exclusivity. Through this work, I propose a vision where artists can engage with these spaces directly, filling them with meaning, creating opportunities, and making connections within the city landscape.