SIX GIRLS SIX CITIES BEGAN AS A CONCEPT I SIMPLY COULDN’T GET OUT OF MY HEAD, SOMETHING I COULDN’T SLEEP ON. LAST YEAR I TOOK THE GAMBLE: SIXTY ROLLS OF FILM, A ONE–WAY TICKET AROUND THE WORLD, AND A BLIND SHOT AT MAKING SOMETHING UNIQUE.

I WAS LOOKING TO CREATE A SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS THAT JUXTAPOSED A GIRL TO A CITY: A HUMAN TO A PLACE. MY PLAN WAS TO PHOTOGRAPH A GIRL IN STUDIO, ON FILM, AND THEN RE–EXPOSE THE SAME ROLL WHILE EXPLORING EACH CITY ON FOOT. SIX GIRLS AND SIX CITIES, TOKYO, MOSCOW, LONDON, SAO PAULO, PARIS, NEW YORK, AND NOT KNOWING WHAT WOULD HAPPEN. NOTHING WOULD BE PREMEDITATED EVERY COMBINATION HAD TO BE BY CHANCE. 

BY COMPOSING MY SUBJECTS IN DOUBLE EXPOSURES ON A SINGLE ROLL OF FILM, I HAD FOUND AN ORGANIC WAY TO CAPTURE THE COMPLEX UNITY OF INDIVIDUAL AND ENVIRONMENT. WHILE EXPLORING THE SUBTLE TENSIONS CIRCULATING BETWEEN PSYCHE, CONTEXT, TEXTURE, AND POPULATION, I WAS ALSO DISCOVERING NEW ELEMENTS OF AN URBAN LIFE IN WHICH I HAD BEEN LIVING FOR YEARS. 

AS A RESULT OF CREATING THIS SERIES, I FEEL THAT I HAVE BECOME MORE DEEPLY CONNECTED WITH MY MEDIUM. SIX GIRLS SIX CITIES EMBODIES A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF PROCESS AND CONTENT THAT OPENS DOORS FOR EXCITING NEW FORMS OF EXPRESSION. AS AN INDIVIDUAL, I HAVE BEEN BROUGHT INTO CONTACT WITH MY ENVIRONMENT BY A RADICAL SENSE OF UNITY; A CONNECTION THAT, IN A WAY, ONLY THESE PICTURES CAN REALLY DESCRIBE.

– COLE BARASH