Here is a friend we once knew: Clayton, the hustler and enigma, a herald from the abyss and a merchant of the illicit. At one point he was one of the most well connected dealers in Central New York with the clientele to prove it. Clayton's cell number was reliable and respected as a true businessman. When you start pushing drugs at 13 its not only what you do, but who you are.
Yet the remains of this personality are fading. His arrest in 2004 condemned a boy struggling with identity and swept away any sense of dignity from under his feet. This image is one in a series of photographs documenting the pusher that was and the man that remains, always a hustler at heart.
Geordie Wood is a social documentary and portrait photographer concerned with the instability of the human condition. His work focuses on youth culture and the tension of physical intimacy and emotional disconnection. Wood began his work at a young age and after receiving a photography degree from Syracuse University continued making images under National Geographic photographer Steve McCurry. Recently, he returned from an extended stay in Nepal photographing the wandering souls of the Katmandu Valley. Wood is internationally published and exhibited; his works have been featured in publications such as The Fader, The Globe Sunday Magazine, and The Toronto Star.
www.geordiewood.com
