I'm choosing images to go with each chapter in the book. The process is a lot harder and more complex than I thought it would be, aesthetically, thematically. What is the image supposed to do?
The end product will be a mix of images by professional documentary photographers, photos I've taken myself, original illustrations, and at least one painting. There are 15 chapters in the book, an introductory note, and an Afterword.
Above, a shot I'm considering by William Dunleavy, a young photographer from New York who spent a good chunk of time in 2008 documenting a band of punks from the outskirts of Neza, on the outskirts of Mexico City.
I hung out with Will a lot while he was here and met his punk crew a couple times, but I can't find them anymore, and I have a gift to deliver to them that Will left with me. I'll still be searching ...
Here's a post from Will's blog on the series, "Punks del Barrio." He writes:
In a country that teeters between the first and third world, these kids are often the lowest of the low. They are often the children of indigenous transplants to the sprawling megalopolis and live in the furthest toxic shanty towns. Through some chance they took on the appropriated identity and culture that is 'punk.' It's a scene that exists in fragmented but tight-knit families who won't hesitate to fight each other or hurl a brick at the cops. They were some of the rowdiest and most destructive people I'd ever met, and I could tell that they didn't have much to hope for. Despite that, my heart was warmed by their kindness to me, their families and loved ones. It was refreshing to experience punk without the familiar pretensions of class and race that I know in the USA.
Nice one. Thank you, Will, for sharing your images with me. And thank you all the photographers and illustrators who have generously offered to share their work through this process.
As always, process over product ... The road over the destination ... This is the best part.
* More later. ** Post edited.