“Mermaids and Masquerades” Exhibition
June Kelly Gallery
This event has ended.
“Mermaids and Masquerades,” an exhibition of dramatic photographs by LeRoy Henderson capture the joy, the antics and the pageantry of Brooklyn’s legendary parades and carnivals.
Henderson describes himself as a “people watcher.” His images, in color as well as high-contrast black and white, come from separate bodies of work amassed over four decades of photographing two annual historic events -- the West Indian-American Day Carnival, which brings together people from different island nations, and the Mermaid Parade, an early summer spectacle that pays tribute to Coney Island’s history and mythology and its long-ago Mardi Gras.
Henderson documents an exhilarating atmosphere reflected in the uninhibited behavior and joyful expressions of costumed revelers and the dense crowds of fascinated onlookers. His photographs demonstrate an inexhaustible passion for human drama, his sharp eye and his elegant sense of composition as he captures the essence and the energy of the celebrations of these two vibrant groups of people — one displaying their ethnic heritage and pride and the other flaunting their overt sexuality and unabashed exhibitionism.
Media
Schedule
from January 16, 2009 to February 24, 2009