
New York City Rising: Protests, Rallies, & Police Riots, 2020-2021
- Publisher
- Hat & Beard Press
- Year
- 2023
- ISBN
- 978-1-955125-26-0
- Specifications
- Hardcover
240 pages
8.5 x 11 in
With contributions from Qween Jean, K.O. Nnamdie, Shawn Batey and Enos Nyamor
A collection of images shot by Ruvan Wijesooriya from May 2020 to May 2021 during the police riots and protests that followed the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. The chronological story begins with the police riots in Chinatown and at Barclays Center on 29 May and ends with the anniversary of Floyd's murder, offering a foreground, a middle ground and a background for the breadth of the movement and revealing a sincere fascination with and dedication to defining the city, his home for two decades, as he captures a transformation. Known for his interactive exhibitions and for photography in music, fashion and nightlife, much of it made in motion, Wijesooriya began shooting for a range of protest organisations after being paid a kill fee by a national magazine when he turned in his photographs of the police riots, knowing that the real story was not being told. The result is a visual story of New York during the biggest uprising in American history.