Project

Labor Creates

Artist Statement

Labor Creates comes directly from the streets. To me, the phrase represents an understanding of the New York City hustle where time is money and what it takes to build a life through work.

Coming from a Caribbean immigrant family, I understand the drive and what it takes to survive in New York City. This series, photographed around Chinatown and Canal Street in Lower Manhattan, reflects my own experiences and emotions around living and working in the city. I have worked as a carpenter, electrician, Zamboni driver, app-based delivery worker, and an independent contractor.

These photographs acknowledge the pride of immigrant communities, a hard day’s work and the people whose goods, services, and labor keep New York City alive.

Weathered Chinatown storefront door with posters and the yellow words Labor Creates written on the glass Colorful New York souvenir baseball caps arranged across a street vendor's display Three street vendors beside a table of hats and belts in front of a pink graffiti-covered van People talking outside an eyewear shop as a man in red stands beside a large eye-test chart Street vendor arranging merchandise beside a white van as a woman in a wide-brimmed hat walks past Delivery worker in a blue helmet waiting on an e-bike beside another vendor's cart on Canal Street Two workers pushing empty hand trucks past Chinatown restaurants Two workers talking under sidewalk scaffolding, one holding a bicycle and boxes of fluorescent tubes Woman working behind a fruit stand filled with oranges, apples, bananas, and handwritten price signs Man working behind a market display of leafy vegetables, melons, and handwritten price signs Fruit vendor holding two green fruits while speaking with a customer across the market counter Two women beside an outdoor vegetable stand on a busy Chinatown street Man reading a lottery ticket beside a stack of jasmine rice bags on a Chinatown sidewalk Blue-and-white bowls and teaware displayed outside a shop with two workers visible through the window Seated street vendor selling bracelets and watches beneath displays of caricature portraits Seated woman in a blue and yellow dress reflected in a storefront window at a city intersection Older man carrying a shopping bag across a Chinatown street with pedestrians and a delivery truck behind him Masked shop worker bending over in a narrow market aisle lined with packaged goods and stacked boxes