"Out in Orient"
Portraits from the North Folks Women's Community
From working on the "Out in Yonkers" series, I learned that documenting a community calls attention to it, and strengthens it in some ways. I have had longstanding connections to the women's community that developed on the North Fork of Long Island in the latter part of the 20th century. Women, especially lesbians, were drawn to the North Fork because it wasn't the Hamptons or Fire Island, and they could afford to live there among the potato farms and vegetable stands. Like most shoreline communities, the pressures of real estate and wealth have changed it, and the women's community is aging. I wanted to document this community, to make a record of what it has meant to be "Out in Orient". I've started making some preliminary sketches. I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.