Occupying Wall Street Accra Shepp Label

 

Occupying Wall Street | October 2011 | Accra Shepp

On September 30th, 2011 I went to Zuccotti Park to investigate the protest that began on the 17th. I was immediately impressed with the energy and the dedication of the participants. The sense that the protest had the potential to be historically significant was overwhelming.

I made an immediate decision to record the protest. I did not have the luxury of waiting to see if the protest would actually realize its political and cultural potential. By the time we are able to properly contextualize this action, the opportunity to record it will be gone.

The diversity of the participants and the range of their activities was so great that I felt it important to be able to consider each protester as an individual. Each protester had come to Zuccotti Park as an individual not as a faceless member of a cause. And, as I wanted to be able to see each of them as clearly as possible, I knew that I had to gather as much information as I could. This meant using a large format camera. This is not just a traditional film camera, but a film camera that uses individual sheets as opposed to rolls.

Below you will find links for a selection of images as well as links to information about where to see all the images and the work of other photographers documenting the protest.


 

LINKS

A Selection of Images From The Project

New York Times Op Ed by Accra Shepp - Occupy Wall Street: Where Are They Now?

ArtNet Magazine Article by Barbara Pollack

New York Times Review of AIPAD

Le Journal de la Photographie

Contexts Magazine

Links to Other Photographers Documenting Occupy Wall Street