Where the two motor cities almost meet. Windsor, Ontario, Canada on one side of the Detroit River and Detroit, Michigan, USA on the other. As a kid growing up in Windsor, I was told that aside from the strong current, the pollution in the Detroit River would kill me. This was further punctuated by stories of pollution in Windsor’s west side. I would hear tales of locals having to rewash the laundry they hung to dry as pollution, filtering in from Detroit’s Zug Island, would contaminate their lives. I was thankful I grew up in the south central part of the city despite living outside of an industrial park. Rolling around in discarded factory plastic wrap and thinking the aqua blue water streaming into the ditch at the end of my street was magickal, seemed a lot better than breathing in whatever it was the power structure in Detroit chose, and continues to choose, to ignore.
The photos in this series were taken during the late winter at sunset on Windsor’s west side. I wanted to capture the area as I saw it that day. I aimed to reflect the beauty I found in an industrial wasteland without ignoring its reality.
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