Janet Delaney: South of Market
Photographer Janet Delaney has captured a portrait of a San Francisco neighbourhood in the throes of urban renewal. The photographic series has been released in a book titled ‘South of Market’.
The collection photographed from 1978, plays a role in documenting the transformation of San Francisco, its changing face and the social fabric that comprises its identity.
Delaney offers a personal insight into the South of Market district, a location she originally moved to for its central location and cost effective nature. After being initially inspired by a construction site as a metaphor for change, she continued to take photographs on the weekend with her large format camera. She captured the area’s gentrification.
“Initially I was searching for metaphors in the transformations of a construction site. My focus evolved into a passionate investigation of the political powers behind the economic transformation — the gentrification — of a neighbourhood. This early project has developed into a lifelong fascination with the forces that construct and deconstruct a city,” said Delaney.
Delaney also captured images of her neighbours in their homes and places of work, while also interviewing them about the changing area. The photographs within the pages of ‘South of Market’ are accompanied by these interviews, offering personal responses to the impact of change on 12 of Delaney’s neighbours. An essay by Erin O’Toole sets the context for this story by providing a history of this constantly evolving neighbourhood.
South of Market is available through MACK.
