On a Tuesday evening that, like a lot of days in Novembers past, felt like the coldest day I have ever experienced despite spending all of my years on the East Coast, I arrived at a party thrown by Instagram for Tyrell Hampton's photo exhibition, "REUNION"—a celebration of New Yorkers and the "synergy of strangers."
In the exhibition space, held somewhere between West Village and Tribeca, I took in the photos of New Yorkers, all cast through his DMs, all with different, distinct emotions expressed on their faces. Throughout the evening, I did a double take on more than one occasion: is the person looking at the photo also one of the people in that photo? There was something sweet and special watching the subjects, some who have never modeled before, take in the result with a sense of pride and accomplishment. They made comments about how the photos, both candid and posed, came to be: "We were literally all piled on top of each other," one said.
BFA/Hippolyte Petit
Bianca Asare
BFA/Hippolyte Petit
BFA/Hippolyte Petit
BFA/Hippolyte Petit
BFA/Hippolyte Petit
Over the course of the evening, Hampton made his rounds, giving soundbites here and there and longer interviews when he could. I asked him what made a great portrait and with literally zero hesitation, he replied, "Emotion." He described his exhibition as "romantic, energetic, and joyful." Hampton is part of Instagram's Drafts initiative, which supports creators in bringing their creative visions to life; "REUNION" completely created on the platform.
Soon, the room was packed to the brim with well dressed people in insanely great jackets: leather bombers, fur, suede, fur and bomber hybrids, fur and suede hybrids, and so on. From a birds-eye view, there was so much texture and dimension amongst the crowd which, from an editor perspective, I really appreciated. Justine Skye, Jack Harlow and Reign Judge sipped on drinks and made the rounds; outside, people lined up for a pizza truck covered in black and white photos, some the same as those presented inside, turned this exhibition opening into a true inside/outside affair. When I finally left, I was encouraged to take a postcard to remember my time there.
BFA/Hippolyte Petit
While outside, a Jamaican singer/songwriter struck up conversation with me about hair braiders in Brooklyn, our respective creative paths and, of course, the photos we were there to take in. This, in my opinion, was the perfect conclusion to a night about creative New Yorkers and connection. "I wanted to document the connection between people meeting for the first time and how easy it is to generate love if positivity is involved," Hampton tells me. Strangers, but a sense of familiarity.
BFA/Hippolyte Petit
And then: casually, but in a haltered chainmail naked dress that couldn't do anything except make a statement, Alex Consani strolled in right as I walked out. The most New York ending to the most New York night.
