Join photographer Genea Barnes, who documented memorials at the site of fatal bike accidents from around the country, as she invites us to pause and pay respect to the dead even as we contemplate how we live, with a gallery talk on the story of her project.
What would it look like to keep not just ourselves safe, but to also truly watch out for one another?
"Don't Forget Me" | Ghost Bike Photographs by Genea Barnes
For New Yorkers young and old, bike rides are ubiquitous during summer in the city. As more cyclists share the streets with cars and pedestrians, this is also a season when bike safety is emphasized. Sadly, hundreds of cyclists are killed nationally each year in traffic accidents.
Temporary memorials are often erected at the sites of these accidents: photographs, flowers, candles, and even bikes painted in white called “ghost bikes.” In most cities, these memorials are often removed within a few months, sometimes weeks. For the bereaved family and friends, these mementos are a way to honor their loved ones and call our attention to how quickly carelessness can take away a life. In Genea Barnes’ collection of photographs documenting ghost bikes from around the country, she invites us to pause and pay respect to the dead even as we contemplate how we live.
In a world that is fast and fleeting, how do we move deliberately, respectfully, carefully, and lovingly? How do we live with caution even as we delight in the joys of sun, air, sky, and our own physicality? What would it look like to keep not just ourselves safe but to also truly watch out for one another?