comrades
(2021 - 2023)
Anyone who lived through the 1990s heard everywhere the announcement of the death of communism. Its burial was said to be the dissolution of the Soviet Union, heralded as the definitive victory of capitalism as the ultimate form of social organization. Revolutionary parties dissolved one after another. But thirty years of neoliberalism have delivered a world of crisis, war, hunger, environmental destruction, poverty, record profits, and fascism. In the tide of history, communists once again assert themselves on the right side of the struggle and seek to rise again. How can they resurrect before the people? How can one be a revolutionary today?
The images and materials that make up the Comrades series are the product of six months immersed in the New York communist movement, from January to June 2022. They do not capture its entirety, full of layers, but rather its activity in a specific moment: post-pandemic New York, the reconnection with the people and the streets, the anger and mourning for 1.35 million compatriots lost to Covid-19.
In the richest city on the planet, magical yet corroded, different revolutionary groups organize themselves, each belonging to a specific organizational line, with diverse tactics and strategies. Fundamentally, those who build these parties are people who put the collective first. They dedicate hours and hours of their limited free time to studying, debating, and organizing their class to push it into the struggle.
They join neighborhood associations, unions, and student groups. They distribute leaflets on Bronx street corners and organize rallies on 5th Avenue. They write newspapers and magazines. Within the party, they find strength, discipline, and inspiration to wage the long fight. They call one another comrades.
