FEATURING SEAN HEMMERLE
May 13, 2020.
A month ago, in April of 2020, we were on the upward slope of the coronavirus curve in New York City. We had been quarantined for one month already and, unbelievably, we knew even less about the virus, and the effects that it would have on the world than we do now.
At the height of the Covid-19 epidemic, award winning photographer Sean Hemmerle received a call asking him if he would be willing to go out on the streets of Manhattan and photograph what they looked like during the “shelter in place”order.
Hemmerle has photographed wartime Iraq, and Afghanistan, and has been to locations of strife across the globe. He has taken photos inside Sadam Hussein’s family Mansion and amongst the rubble of the World Trade Center after 9/11. He has seen a lot—but this was different.
In ‘Front Room Conversations’ we interviewed him about his experiences photographing in New York City during the ascent of the Coronavirus outbreak.
ADD A SEAN HEMMERLE PHOTOGRAPH TO YOUR COLLECTION
A selection of photographs from this series are available for purchase, with a percentage of the proceeds donated to COVID-19 relief.
Paris Theater, New York, NY, 5 April, 2020
Winter Garden, New York, NY, 6 April, 2020
Man in White, 14th Street, New York, 3 June, 2020
St. John the Divine, New York, NY, 7 April, 2020
St. John the Divine Interior, New York, NY, 7 April, 2020
Sean Hemmerle is a New York based photographer whose work ranges from international conflict zones to deserted industrial towns in the United States. His conflict images span over 10 years, beginning with the World Trade Center collapse, and continuing with sites such as Kabul, Baghdad, Gaza, Juarez and Beirut. Closer to home, Hemmerle has created award-winning photographs that reflect the pathos and poetry of U.S. Rust Belt areas in Detroit, Pittsburgh, Toledo, Gary, and Albany. He collaborated with the Columbia Journalism Review while working on the “Media Nodes” project, where newsrooms across the country were photographed as production facilities. In addition to thematically driven subjects, Hemmerle is drawn to architecture as a formal and symbolic element in much of his work. This has led to numerous commercial collaborations with international architecture and design firms. Since receiving his MFA from the School of Visual Arts, Hemmerle has exhibited nationally and internationally. His work can be found in public and private collections such as the Museum of Modern Art, the International Center for Photography, Martin Margulies and Brooks Brothers. His images have been featured in major publications, including Metropolis, Time and The New York Times Magazine.