Haruka Sakaguchi

Original New Yorkers

Author Tom Slater describes gentrification as a “spatial expression of economic inequality.” It is, in short, the process by which middle and upper class residents and investors take over a predominantly working and lower-middle-class neighborhood, displacing former residents and altering the social fabric of the community. Processes of gentrification have often been conflated with terms such as “urban renewal” and “revitalization” while invoking devastating consequences for working and lower-middle-class residents of major cities. Original New Yorkers is an ongoing portrait series of New York natives who have been affected by gentrification.

Subjects are shot in their homes or workplaces and asked to submit a handwritten note, either depicting the way gentrification has affected them personally or an “open letter” addressing newcomers to New York City.

 

 

 

 

Bio

Haruka Sakaguchi is a Japanese photographer based out of Brooklyn, New York. Her work focuses on cultural identity, otherness, and sense of place. Haruka was born in Osaka, Japan. Her family immigrated to the United States when she was three months old. In 2013, Haruka received a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of British Columbia. Since then, her work has taken her to various corners of the world where she has produced both personal and editorial work. Haruka uses photography to challenge monolithic interpretations of a culture or community. She has worked with a wide range of subjects, from the Muslim community in the tri-state area to residents of Jeffrey City, a former uranium mining town in central Wyoming. Haruka also returns to her home country regularly to work on an ongoing portrait series documenting hibakusha, or A-bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

 

 

Related Links

Haruka Sakaguchi