By Elias Decena
I came to the address he had given me. I found myself in front of this huge building. On front walls of this building were different posters of varied exhibitions going on inside, most of them are theatrical performances. There are posters faded by time, others have just been posted and some telling of what to expect. Inside the building, you could tell that many things are happening.
I walked up the staircase to reach the suite where Wayne’s studio is at; unfortunately when I got there he wasn’t in. “No worries” I told myself, it was my mistake after all, I didn’t give him any notice that I would be coming. But I keep thinking of what was the last time he had been here; just 20minutes ago? 30? 1 hour? Just a click of the time and I missed him. So I went down and headed to the nearest train station. But just a few minutes of walk away from the station, I saw a familiar face, it was Wayne. I approached him and told that I had just stopped by his place. He told me that he was about to leave for an appointment with a friend and he had only five minutes to spare. Though it was only five minutes, he was generous enough to share it with me (the fact that he was in a hurry). Together with Wayne, I came back to suite 411. Wayne took out his key, from that moment I anticipated what to see inside (maybe be photos hanged on the wall with lightings on them, maybe photos framed with polished wood and clear glass). So we entered his studio. The cold air that occupied his place welcomed me with chills. Upon entering, no frames greeted and no lights shone on his photos. Inside Wayne’s studio are piles of photographs scattered on the floor, on tables and every corner of his place. Then and there I thought “this is something different”. I was told to feel free to wander around his studio. I was very careful not to step on his photos given that they’re on the floor. I saw Wayne’s photos printed on old papers with quality that seems surpassed by time, as too his photographs which portray a past event on China, I could only think of things that happened in the past while looking at his photos. Looking at them, I took a trip to the past. His photos were taken in China, on a trip he had taken back to the birthplace of his grandparents until their displacement to Taiwan, some were taken on the streets of New York. AWESOME!
NYC Arts! 