The memories depicted in this portfolio were described in interviews from 2017 -2019 with women who had illegal abortions prior to Roe v. Wade. Some are telling these stories for the very first time and many of their families have never heard them.

The well-used books that I have photographed resided in school, university and public libraries until they were retired. The portraits seek to describe the weight and texture of volumes that have been shared by many hands. Although the images depict deterioration, the paper and bindings also reveal abundant energy and vigor. The series explores the use of photography for documentation of artifacts and material culture. At a time when many libraries are transitioning from traditional stacks to digital collections, this portfolio is an expression of my great appreciation for both public libraries and physical books.

 

Lowery Stokes Sims Curator's Statement
"I Know You're Looking, But What Do You See?"
Exhibition at School 33 Art Center, Baltimore, MD
May 6 - June 17, 2011

Gina Randazzo's photographs of department store interiors, merchandise manikins and escalators perfectly convey the fuzzy, out of focused, lightly panicked, even euphoric feeling that can accompany the shopping experience. She has a finely honed sense of formal organization, which draws our attention to the innate patterns and textures in these scenes. Yet at the same time she nullifies the sensuous experience of them with her uniformly grainy development of the images.

1 River Street
Hastings-On- Hudson, NY

Building 52 is the only factory still standing at the former home of Anaconda Wire and Cable, which operated on this site from 1928 to 1975, employing many local citizens.

While producing cables for the Navy during World War II, Anaconda developed polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) as a substitute for rubber insulation, which was then unavailable for import.

Later PCBs were found to be toxic, causing illness for plant workers and pollution of the Hudson River where they were dumped.

1 River Street
Hastings-On- Hudson, NY

The Anaconda property covers 28 acres of the Village’s Hudson River waterfront and is designated a Class 2 Superfund site, described by the Department of Environmental Conservation as “representing a significant threat to public health and/or the environment and requiring action.”

Pollutants include PCBs, asbestos, petroleum hydrocarbons and metals, such as lead, copper and zinc.

Decontamination and clean up are underway by British Petroleum, the current owner of the property, as are discussions of how the plot will be reused.

1 River Street
Hastings-On- Hudson, NY

Waterfront industry has been integral to the history of the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson since 1849, including the manufacturing and distribution of sugar, coal, bluestone, lumber, pavement, plaster, brass and cooper wire.

In recognition of this tradition some residents would like to see Building 52 restored as a historic landmark.

The saw-tooth roof structure, dating from the 19th century and popular until the widespread use of artificial lighting, utilized north facing daylight and is currently considered an environmentally efficient design tool.

This series of Solarplate prints archives well-used, out-of-date and discarded objects in recognition of a disposable consumer culture. After making the photographs, I have been selling the items on eBay, hoping to keep them from landfills for a while longer.

This series was part of an exhibition with the Studio Collective in 2016.

As the 3:23 p.m. train departed from the Hastings station on a Tuesday afternoon, I photographed it up to the Railroad Avenue Bridge, a journey taking less than a minute.