1st place
gold star award
Franck Bohbot
title
Little Odessa
Little Odessa series by Franck Bohbot
Unlike its famed neighbour, Coney Island—with whom it spent the better part of the 20th century unsuccessfully competing—Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach remains largely un-mythologized, its cultural narrative unclear even to the New Yorkers who frequent its sun-baked sands during the summer months.
The images offer a largely architectural study of the neighborhoods, where signs and storefronts, underpasses and densely built residential homes serve as hieroglyphic clues to its layered ethnic and cultural identity. Out of the murky shadows and bruised indigos of evening, an after-hours Brighton Beach takes shape, whose dim streets and alleyways lit by chintzy neons more closely resemble the set for a Russian gangster film than a beachside resort neighborhoods—not coincidentally, the area is a known (secret) hub for Russian organized crime. To the average beach-seeking visitor, these scenes are all but invisible; most depart by sunset, having seen only the sun, sand, and luxurious condominiums looking out over the Atlantic (never back towards Little Odessa).
back to gallery
entry description
Brighton Beach, 2016-17Little Odessa series by Franck Bohbot
Unlike its famed neighbour, Coney Island—with whom it spent the better part of the 20th century unsuccessfully competing—Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach remains largely un-mythologized, its cultural narrative unclear even to the New Yorkers who frequent its sun-baked sands during the summer months.
The images offer a largely architectural study of the neighborhoods, where signs and storefronts, underpasses and densely built residential homes serve as hieroglyphic clues to its layered ethnic and cultural identity. Out of the murky shadows and bruised indigos of evening, an after-hours Brighton Beach takes shape, whose dim streets and alleyways lit by chintzy neons more closely resemble the set for a Russian gangster film than a beachside resort neighborhoods—not coincidentally, the area is a known (secret) hub for Russian organized crime. To the average beach-seeking visitor, these scenes are all but invisible; most depart by sunset, having seen only the sun, sand, and luxurious condominiums looking out over the Atlantic (never back towards Little Odessa).
back to gallery