Juxtaposition

JUXTAPOSITION | HAVANA, CUBA | © PRESTON LEWIS THOMAS

In the foreground we have two young girls on their way to school. In the background, we have a scene from Inception. This pretty much sums up the visual nature of Havana.

The city is awash in beautiful and often, massive and decaying structures created decades ago by master architects and builders. Colors weathered and worn but that still explode with a preternatural vibrance under the slightest bit of sunlight, they shine an embarrassing light on the drab, lifeless, beige existence that is so pervasive in the United States.

We’ve all seen city streets ripped apart, chunks of concrete and asphalt strewn alongside the roads while various components of infrastructure are added, removed or replaced. But when it happens in a place like Havana, it's just another work of art.
Abstract Expressionism for the People.

On another note: the skirts worn by the young girls in this photograph don’t start out that way. When the uniform first arrives, the skirt actually stops just below the knees. But as every parent knows... teenagers are gonna be teenagers, and that’s that.

The Great Lovers of La Habana

THE GREAT LOVERS OF LA HABANA | © PRESTON LEWIS THOMAS

There was a visceral tone to this second trip to Havana. Aside from the fact that practically everyone there thought I was Cubano, the people were extremely welcoming, and openly interested in who the hell we were.

The Sister in this photograph called out to me and pointed to her home. She opened the door which gave way, as so many of the structures do, to multiple thresholds, open rooftops, peeling paint, lavish colors, and strange stairwells. She pointed to my camera, beckoning me to make a photograph of all she was showing me - in a very Vanna White fashion.

I was totally captivated, not by her home, but by her. I loved how forward and fearless and open she was to total strangers. Maybe not strangers at all.

I asked instead for her photograph. She laughed, at which point, Lover Boy, husband I assumed, poked his head out to see what was happening. We all just stared at each other for a minute, and then he simply embraced her and began planting kisses.

Such were our days…

Slice of Life on 63rd Street

A SLICE OF LIFE ON EAST 63RD STREET | © PRESTON LEWIS THOMAS

They hang out on the corner of 63rd and Drexel next to an abandoned lot, waiting. The gas station across the street has an automated car wash, and they’re hoping that some of the customers will want their vehicles properly dried, and maybe a little tire dressing.

I get it.
It’s the Hustle.
They’re livin’ for the city.

In fact, I notice several cars parked diagonally in front of the lot and a mix of brothers and sisters tending to these vehicles. There isn’t a set price. There’s no service menu. Customers pretty much pay what they want.

One lady tells me, “When they come out the car wash, they cars still be wet. They have they own towels and Armor All and stuff. I mean, at least we ain’t out here tryin’ to rob or shoot nobody…”

Another adds, “I usually ask for three or four dollars, but you know, I’ll take whatever…”

I do know.
Sometimes, I’ll take “whatever”.

The conversation quickly pivots to what kind of photographer I am and one of the ladies asks whether or not I’ve ever photographed a naked woman on a couch.

I find the last part of that oddly specific, but I answer:
“Freelance”
“Yes.”

A slice of life.

For a Fallen Classmate

On May 18, 2014, Aaron Rushing was murdered. He was shot by another teenager for reasons still unknown… a few days before his birthday.

Aaron was a student at the Chicago High School for the Arts. Students who knew Aaron came together and held a memorial service on the side of the school which included a memorial wall, singing, dancing, laughter, prayer and tears.

The following morning, some CPS "worker-bee" managed to wash away all that the students had created in remembrance of their fallen classmate.

Nice try, CPS.

Like the defiant teenagers they are, the students went right back to work…
creating another homage in the very same place.

I think CPS finally got it in their heads that they weren’t gonna win this, and let the wall be.

Multiple Images...

Aarons' Wall

Farewell Aaron

A Message for Aaron

Students Surround Aaron's Mother

Songs, Candles and Tears