Jean Ross: Mermaids and Polar Bears
Jean left Sacramento in 2012, a decision prompted by a job offer that was too good to pass up and a mid-life crisis. Settling into urban life in Brooklyn, she quickly learned that she could hop on the Q train and emerge a short time later at Stillwell Avenue. Coney Island soon became her happy place. A four-season source of visual inspiration and adventure. A welcome respite from city life.
The Coney Island that moves Jean is New York without the pretension or the high cost of admission. A diverse, quirky, and welcoming community of communities that is a street photographer’s dream come true. These images document two of these communities: the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, an intrepid group of winter swimmers who take the plunge into the cold Atlantic every Sunday afternoon from November through April, and the participants of the annual Mermaid Parade, a celebration that inaugurates the official start of the summer season. Together, they are one photographer’s attempt to honor and commemorate the place and the people that inhabit this unique community.
