Dyckman Haze

In the city there are ways to escape the grid and walk along lines unseen. The city parks of New York offer this escape, eliciting both alienation and intoxication. They allow citizens and nature both a space for growth, a second city away from eyes on the street. Adam Pape’s photographs utilize the city parks in Washington Heights and Inwood as the backdrop for a narrative that unfolds in between day and night. Like a church or temple, parks are transformative. Here, young people have a public stage where they can try on different roles in the dark. Other citizens wander, fish, smoke, and pass time while animals lurk in the urban fringes, a reminder of nature’s promises and perils. These monochromatic images, directed by Pape and artificially lit, depict an ongoing exchange between humans, animals, and the landscape. In the furthest reach of Manhattan, sectioned off from further development, history and myth are at play.