Rating: NNNNN
WHAT: After, at Whipper Snapper Gallery (587A College, 416-887-7483), to May 31.
WHY: Macri photographed Detroit’s economically eroded downtown just before the renewal efforts of the last five years. When we read or hear about the closing of a distant plant or the loss of jobs, the devastating impact on a community can be hard to fathom. This series takes an unwavering look at the effects on Detroit’s once thriving downtown core of the loss of 100,000 jobs and 1.2 million people.
Macri’s lucid eye and knack for storytelling go past the desolation of these sites to give us a sense of their history and original grandeur. Other shots focus on the quirky survival strategies of the residents, including one high school teacher’s creative efforts to fundraise for his school’s art program.
BUZZ: In an ironic and tragic twist, Macri’s photography studio was destroyed in February’s six-alarm Queen West blaze. These photos, representing several years’ work, were among the first images to be rescued from that fire.
