BMMR. Built from the Lot Up
Artist Statement
The modified car scene has become a launchpad for independent brands, names like BMMR, REPJA, Pink Flamingo, and dozens of others that started as livery graphics or crew names. These turned into full apparel and lifestyle brands without any outside funding or traditional marketing. The trend is grassroots brand-building. A logo goes on a car, shows up at meets, gets recognized, and eventually ends up on hoodies and tees that sell to people who may never touch a car. This editorial uses BMMR as a case study for that pipeline, tracing the brand from the gas station lot where it surfaces at night through the clothing and community that carry it beyond the car. I shot across multiple locations in Atlanta at night using CineStill 800T film and strobe-lit digital to keep a consistent feel that matches when and where this culture actually operates. The work is targeted at Highsnobiety or Complex, both of which regularly cover the intersection of streetwear, car culture, and independent brand identity.
A Study in Speed
Artist Statement
The further you step back, the more you recognize how much has changed. The cars, the culture, the people. This project explores their distance from one another. A Study in Speed is a three-chapter series that examines automotive subculture through specific important eras. The 1970s, 1990s, and 2010s. Each chapter is structured around a specific car, a specific location, and a visual identity that brings you back in time.
The first chapter is built around a 1977 Corvette shot under Spanish moss in South Carolina. I intended to capture that sense of open freedom with warm light and open land. The 70s, the way it felt.
The second chapter follows a rose gold 1993 NSX through an urban construction site, open bridges, and a beautiful sunset. A lone man out for a drive with a car that was ahead of its time. The 90s, the way it felt.
The third chapter finishes with a slammed 2017 Mustang S550, outside a closed body shop at midnight. Bright blue paint, LED under glow, and streetwear. The 2010s, the way it felt.
Each chapter was approached differently, as each era brings something different to the table. I did not use film photography and digital photography interchangeably. They were used intentionally, with the medium chosen to create the mood of the era. A Study in Speed is about community as much as it is about cars. It’s about the people who built identities around machines, who found belonging in a specific make, modification, or moment in time. The car is always the subject. But the culture is always the point.