Trippy Photo Series Zooms In On “The End Of Brooklyn”

Photographer David Mandl has been snapping shots of dead ends in Brooklyn for 15 years. Now, while this may seem like a futile effort, the 125 pictures he’s accumulated tell a compelling story about the rough-and-tumble borough. The stillness and repetition in Mandl’s collection are surprisingly evocative.

Aaron Rothman describes Mandl’s work in Places Journal:

Occasionally, we catch a glimpse of urban activity — a canoe, a basketball hoop, a deer statue — but more often our view is obscured. The signs are posted in front of a guardrail, fence, wall, or screen of unkempt foliage that disrupts the continuous space of the city. The images frustrate the desire to know what lies beyond. In this context, the repetition of the word “END” (often centered in the frame) becomes unsettling. Is this a warning? A metaphor?

While the photos span every cranny and corner of Brooklyn, Mandl, a Bensonhurst native, was kind enough to share several that were taken in neighborhoods covered by Sheepshead Bites and some of our sister sites. The vivid image featured above was captured in Bensonhurst.

Below is a dead end adjacent to the Brooklyn Yacht Club in Sheepshead Bay.

Here, a dead-end sign stands in front of an overgrown fence in Kensington. A faint building in the background is obscured by fog.

Check out the rest of the series here. Also check out Mandl’s awesome photos of New York’s elevated subway lines. And, while you’re at it, check out his wonderful archive of old-school Bensonhurst nicknames.

Photos courtesy of Dave Mandl, used with permission.