Inside the hidden archives of America's mass shootings
- Text by Andres Gonzalez
- Photography by Andres Gonzalez
On 14 December, 2012, Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and shot and killed 26 people, most of them under the age of seven, before killing himself.
Two weeks earlier, I had just returned to the US after living in Istanbul for six years.
Having recently published my first monograph of photographs from far-flung locations, I felt like it was time to try and interpret my own home.
Then came Sandy Hook. I remember the day acutely, the complicated emotions of transition and tragedy embedding themselves in my soul.
Over the following year I thought seriously about the cloud that hangs over this country and how I could explore it as a visual storyteller.
I started visiting sites of mass shootings – from Columbine to Sandy Hook – in a bid to understand the cycle of violence overwhelming America.
Commemorative balloons released into the sky.
You might like
The London passport picture studio that became an unexpected repository of 20th century stars
Passport Photo Service — From Mick and Bianca Jagger to Muhammad Ali and Poly Styrene, the unassuming Oxford Street store was frequented by hundreds of musicians, actors, artists and more over its 70 years of operation.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Sophie Green’s maximalist, technicolour vision of Britain’s fringes
Tangerine Dreams — The photographer has spent over a decade documenting the rituals, subcultures and social gatherings that form the collaged fabric of the UK’s society. A new exhibition at the Martin Parr Foundation celebrates her work and the communities she captures.
Written by: Roxana Diba
When the Chelsea Hotel was New York’s countercultural epicentre
Closed doors, open minds — Albert Scopin’s new photobook collects photographs that were once thought to be lost, documenting the city’s creative scene that gathered during the building’s 1969 to 1971 heyday.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Glasgow’s Calabash is the restaurant the African diaspora call home
Home Cooking — Having been open in the heart of the city for 15 years, the Kenyan rooted eatery has become a community staple for migrants and Scottish-born locals alike.
Written by: Lisa Maru
Andrea Modica’s 40 year long Italian Story
Storia — The Italian American photographer first ventured to her ancestral country in 1987, beginning a decades long exploration and documentation of it.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Exploring Bucovina, the last wild place in Europe
Noroc! — 70% of Romania’s northern provinces are covered in ancient woodland, with its people cultivating a close relationship with the land that stretches back millennia. Jack Burke forages, eats and drinks his way around the region.
Written by: Jack Burke
