In May 1990, National Geographic magazine published a 26-page cover story on Spanish Harlem by Puerto Rican photographer Joseph Rodriguez, chronicling daily life in El Barrio at the height of the crack epidemic. From the streets to the social clubs, the churches to trap houses, Joseph crafted a powerful portrait of a neighbourhood struggling to survive. At a time when the mainstream American media rarely offered honest, compassionate stories of Latino life, publishing these images was a powerful political act — one that added to a growing rift inside the magazine, which resulted in the firing of photography director William Garrett.
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A couple of years later, Los Angeles native Sean Maung found a copy of the magazine in his Los Angeles elementary school. “One of the first photos that ever hit me was Joseph Rodriguez’s photo of a girl with a blue and white ice cream pop,” Sean says. “I was in fourth grade like, ‘Damn, that’s a dope photo!’”
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A seed was planted, taking root and eventually came to fruition in 2004 when Sean picked up a camera for himself. “My first passion has always been people — I am fascinated by them,” he says. Rather than confining himself to a neighbourhood or scene, Sean moves between different worlds without disrupting the flow. Whether hanging out at swap meets, barbershops, vaquero bars in East Hollywood, the Flower District in Downtown LA, Venice Beach or South Central, Sean uses photography to celebrate the working class who give the city its style and edge.
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While hanging out at King Henry VIII, an old school strip club in Hawthorne, Sean met Cash, a dancer whose style he admired. He photographed her for a shoot, and they stayed in touch. “One night in 2018, she texted me and said, ‘I’m dancing at this event in Inglewood. You should come through and take pictures’. She didn’t explain what it was,” Sean says. “So I showed up at a comedy club, and the bouncer said, ‘You know what you’re about to get yourself into, right?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, of course.’ I went inside and it was nothing but women in the crowd. Next thing I knew, there were dudes coming out and putting on shows.”
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