Kevin Joseph Convery (b. 1986) is a photographer and artist living and working in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Through photographing his neighborhood he creates a stark and visceral response to his immediate surroundings. His photographs become a document-to-self in relation to the individual isolation and malaise of city life. These overarching themes can be found in nearly all of his work. Convery has been self-publishing books since 2014.
Nothing Nice
Successfully managing a substance abuse disorder is a persistent, yet ultimately necessary task. Any form of recovery program will eventually ask the user that they recognize and address the people, places, and things that correlate to substance use and abuse. Suddenly, your environment and your social interactions become suspect to a hypercritical level of introspection.
I had moved to north Philadelphia at a tumultuous and trying time in my life. Though I initially felt refreshed moving across the city, the ever presence of glassine baggies, used hypodermic needles, the pinned pupils and the glacial shuffle of those afflicted became a reminder that I may feel finished with my past but the city is not ready to extend me such a luxury.
Nothing Nice For No One, Never became a manageable barrier between the struggle of being a better son, brother, friend and lover in an environment that frequently begs, “Kindness? For what?”
To view more of Kevin Convery’s work please visit his website.