The Star-Spangled Banner

The thing that struck me most while photographing the 472 stations of the New York subway was the ubiquitous sense of fear. The sense of not being safe. It was palpable, everywhere.

In recent months, multiple innocent people have been killed in the New York subway. On their way to work. Coming home from a party. Living their lives. And while crime rates are still below those seen in the 80s, the resulting sense of fear is apparent and undeniable.

In the 12 days that I spent in the subway, I got physically attacked twice. First by a guy with a lamp post who thought I was Jesus and begged me to pardon him. And a few days later I got punched in my back, hard, for no apparent reason. On my subway rides I saw quite a few men with their privates exposed. I was shocked by the number of homeless and mentally ill people on the trains.

All in all, not great.

I believe that what’s going on in the New York subway is a reflection of what’s happening in the broader society, and shows where the USA is heading. 

What I saw, sensed and experienced got me worried. A worry that is further compounded by the ever increasing gun violence and racially motivated hate crime. By the erosion of basic human rights caused by the recent overturning of Roe vs Wade. By the fact that a former president and government officials flouted fundamental principles of what has been said to be the greatest democracy of all.

“How are you going to show this?” asked an old friend.

I am showing this through a series of photos that I took of disfigured American flags on New York subway train cars, as these flags mirror the current social fabric of the USA.