About The Tribe Series

Witnessing the rapid urbanization in my old neighborhood in Jackson Heights, Queens, I was drawn to a particular construction site where, silhouetted against a crystal blue sky, there was a group - a tribe of sorts – of steel girders. While some stood perfectly straight and ready to serve the next phase of construction, others were not yet in their “proper” position and still more were piled randomly.

In spite of their precise sameness, each girder that day seemed to exude its own unique identity. Within days of observing this scene, the individualism within this tribe had vanished. The loss, and recapture, of individualism and identity has personal meaning to me. It reflects my artistic youth overpowered by a ten-year corporate existence, and my reawakening to art and a creative life in 2001.