Sloan

The Sloan Valve project was my first series of photographs. I began this project in 1999, while I was a student at Colombia College in Chicago. I worked at Sloan Valve as a hand polisher. I would come into work everyday with my 4x5 View Camera and studio lights, with the hope that my co-workers were interested in having their portrait taken. I was only allowed to photograph during my lunch or while I was on break. This rule also applied to the people who wanted their portrait taken. My relationship with my subjects was intense because we shared experiences at the factory. I was an insider, but having the opportunity to bring in a large format camera with strobe lights inside the factory made my co-workers apprehensive. I had rejected the blue-collar legacy my father had wished for me by choosing to be a photographer. As I brought in prints and gave them to those that chose to be photographed, my co-workers noticed the empathy and profound respect I had for them. My intention for this series of photographs was to show the face of humanity and reveal my own belief in the significance of the human experience.