The Rainbow Project
I grew up in Staten Island, in a town called Tottenville, as did my father Roger Wilson. As did his father, Stanley Wilson when he moved here from Ireland when he was two. My favorite part about growing up here was looking at the photographs and videos from their childhood and learning about what that time period was like, then matching it with familiar landmarks or homes that I knew as well.
I wanted to document the time period of the pandemic. If anyone was interested in receiving a portrait done of their family or just of themselves on their front porch/steps/from their front window, I would take it at a safe distance from the sidewalk or street. I think this created a great memory for our neighborhood and for their family history as well. To help remember this difficult time period that we all got through together.
These photographs were free of cost. I just asked that in one of the photos each family can hold up a homemade rainbow as a symbol of hope. In the near future, I’ll be working on a book of these portraits.
