325 KENT MURAL

When I moved to Williamsburg in 2001, the historic Domino Sugar Factory was still operating as an active refinery, smelling sweet from blocks away. It remains an iconic part of Brooklyn history and was one of the most significant industrial landmarks.

 

I was shooting the sugar refinery from 2013 to 2015, including the cityscape of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. At night when I was crossed the Williamsburg Bridge, it looked to me as if a giant dinosaur laying by the river.  When the factory closed in 2004, it was just abandoned and decayed with rust, a once prosperous dinosaur became a fossil.  In my time living in Brooklyn, I became interested in the dramatic change of Williamsburg as both and artist and a neighbor.  I published two books documenting this evolution and culture, “Riverside Story” in 2001 and “Riverside Story 2” in 2011.  These books are my photographic dailies, and as a result of shooting Williamsburg these 10 years apart, they contrasted the significant change of this area.

“Domino Sugar Factory” is my third project linked to my beloved Williamsburg neighborhood.  I documented the entire sugar factory complex before the demolition, with access given by Two Trees, and currently planning to shoot after the new condominiums are completed through the years, to highlight the on-going evolution with an architectural approach.