Homage to Three Days of My Youth
By Rachel Fleischman, featuring Vincent Valega
Girls wearing cowboy boots. Men on the subway with their ties loosened. We were all outside. It was summer — the second one to happen through the pandemic. It was a summer when it felt good to be outside. The sun shone so bright, but there was a refreshing breeze everyday.
Ears, lungs and throats were constantly full of something from the air. Cars honked. Ambulance sirens went off. There were saxophones blasting in the subway station, and fresh flowers and street food emanating around each corner.
My mind was clear. It felt like closing my eyes when they’re heavy with sleep. It felt so good… We were all wearing masks, but you could still see the crinkles near someone’s eyes when they smiled at you.
Homage to Three Days of My Youth is a visual project documenting a three day trip to New York City with Vincent, a friend. Those days were filled with memories of eating buttered bagels late at night, being greeted by photographs of my favorite musicians in SoHo, observing, laughing and other, smaller instances. This project collates sketchbook pages with writing and collages on the people we encountered, the places we ended up in, and the music we listened to, accompanied by film photographs.
