The Manrilla Blog | Life. Art. Religion. Culture.

I have been fortunate enough that no matter where I travel to or places I have moved to I still have a small, core group of friends that I keep in touch with. Sean has been a friend of mine since just shortly after high school. I actually attended the same high school he went to for a year [for jazz studies with Mike Grace at Community High] but never met him there. Sean is always one of the first people I look up when I go back home to visit. It’s crazy to see him with kids and all now. This was a fun day, per the ridiculous expression on his face! Happy 30th all over again! Hasselblad 501 C/M, Ilford Pan F 50 ISO. Hand-held, available light.

Retrospective?

I met Hazem while he was working at Ali Baba, a restaurant in Ann Arbor owned by a Palestinian family. The dynamic was interesting between the non-Levant Arabs [Tunisians, Yemenis, etc.] and the Palestinians. Many of the non-levant Arabs worked in the greater Detroit area, from Dearborn to Ann Arbor, sometimes at the whim of fellow Arab employers who would pay them low wages, often working for days on end with little to no time off and no worker’s rights. Dearborn especially had a visible caste system with the Yemeni Arabs working low-end jobs and the Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese being the more affluent.

As for Hazem, I cannot say that his experience was wholly unpleasant. He seemed to get along well with the owners. I had the opportunity to get to know them all quite well myself as I spent a lot of time hanging out in the kitchen with the staff and family. I also taught the owner’s children at a weekend Islamic school. I have fond memories of the times there and when they would allow, I’d even occasionally pitch in [for a free bowl of delicious lentil soup, of course!] and help with cooking, cleaning and deliveries. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Fuji Neopan 400 ISO. Hand-held, available light.

Retrospective?

I believe it was in 2002 that I took a trip down to Frankfort, Kentucky, to visit Michelle’s father and family. This was my first trip to a what I thought would be a hostile territory. As a black man who grew up in “The North”, Kentucky held a certain ambiguity for me. I wasn’t sure if I should be afraid or not but my curiosity eventually won out over whatever fears I had and I commenced to driving around photographing the region. There were many beautiful horse farms in the area. I had a chance to walk up to a few and take a couple of shots. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Fuji Neopan 400 ISO. Hand-held.

Retrospective?

Once boasting some of the grandest houses to be found, so many of Detroit’s former “mansions” lay in ruin. There are spots where one can drive for blocks or perhaps even miles and witness only decay. Many have fallen victim to fire or been ravaged by scavengers looking to make a few pennies off of stripping it of all metals such as the copper wiring or plumbing. Several of the houses were occupied by the homeless or other drifters with the occasional junk yard dog that could pose a formidable challenge to shooting. If memory serves, this was near Brush Park. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Ilford Delta 400. Tripod.

Retrospective?

I came to Philadelphia in 2002 with Dr. Sherman Jackson and a few other brothers from the Detroit area to “see what Philly was all about”. It was a week-long road trip to come out and see first-hand what the Muslim community was like. At that time, I had the feeling that there was a certain mystique about the Philly Muslim community. I was still residing in Detroit at this time and would have never thought I’d be living here in five years. This is the first of a few shots I took from that trip. Taken right outside the United Muslim Masjid, South Philly. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Ilford Delta Pro 100 ISO. Hand-held, available light.

Retrospective?

They call Detroit the Motor City. I guess that’s a good name for it seeing that all those cars have been built there. But on my many shoots it seemed more like a motor graveyard. Often one could find an old tire just laying in the street or the sidewalk. Abandoned cars. An abandoned life. It was around this time, approximately 2001, when I was taking weekly trips back into the city to shoot, that I would just wander the streets and take in the blight. Many of the hipster kids from the art schools like Cranbrook or CCS thought it was “cool” because it was all run down. I always thought it was sad - perhaps because it’s where I was born. So much greatness now only lingers in forgotten and dilapitaed houses, who’s craftsmenship has been lost in the annuls of Time. Titus was with me on this one. I think both our hands were frozen shut by the day’s end. God, I miss the ol’ days. Hasselblad 501 C/M. Ilford Delta 400 ISO. Hand-held.

Retrospective?

When I met Titus in Ann Arbor, he was finishing up his MFA at the University of Michigan. Through him I was able to meet some other very talented artists. Monte was one of them. Monte was in the MFA program as well and shortly after completing his degree he, along with a couple of other artists, started up a sort of co-op called Studio 555. I remember going by this old space on the West Side of town in an old building. There was always a lot going on, with cast of characters coming and going. Monte being the kind of person he is, he allowed just about any and all to participate. There were some fun art parties thrown here. When time permitted I used to come and just hang out and shoot Monte or some of the other artists that were passing through. I believe this guy’s name was Andres. The space has since moved from its original location in Ann Arbor to Detroit - I believe the building succumbed to a fire. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Ilford Delta 3200 ISO. Hand-held, available light.

Retrospective?

In 2004, I took a long road trip/vacation and drove from Madison, Wisconsin, to Monterrey in Mexico. It was an incredibly long drive that took over four days of long, serious driving [though we did stop for a couple of days in St. Louis to visit a friend’s family] to reach our destination. I love road trips [I have driven from coast to coast a couple of times now]. I like being out on the road with the wind in your hair just observing what flies by you. It’s as if time becomes modal. You catch so much more than when you fly. The city of Monterrey itself was not terribly remarkable, though the food was fairly decent. The most striking aspect were the ring of mountains [Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range] that surround the city [as a side note - one of the names of Monterrey is Sultana del Norte. Really shows how much of an influence Islam/Arabic language had on the Spanish language. I wonder of the US government knows there’s a sultanate in their backyard?]. It was nice to visit a part of Mexico that was not a tourist location. The people were fairly nice [known as regios] and if I had the chance I’d return, though I’d like to spend more time in the mountains. This is the scene of a church that sits in the foothills of the San Pedro mountains. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Kodak T-Max 100 ISO. Hand-held.

Retrospective?