Pankaj Khadka
Documentary Photographer / Visual Storyteller
Blue Hill Avenue is a four-mile nerve that stretches through Boston’s Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan neighborhoods.
Boston is one of the most expensive cities in the U.S., yet in a stroll down Blue Hill the contrast between the glamor and sophistication of Newbury Street, Boston’s most enchanting street, and the metal-grilled doors and cracked windows of Mattapan’s commercial strip are starkly evident.
These images explore the everyday lives of people who reside, commute, work, or pray in the Mattapan section of Blue Hill Avenue, home to churches of many denominations, barber and beauty shops, family –owned ethnic restaurants, laundries, and auto-shops, all of which operate around a mix of public housing, apartments, and colorful private houses.
The demographics of Mattapan – some refer to it as Murderpan – is predominantly African American, and the locals are no strangers to violence and crime. After moving to Boston for graduate school, I was advised very early by some locals and transplants to keep away from these neighborhoods, which only sparked my interest in the area.
The result: a photo series documenting the street life on Blue Hill Avenue during a course of eight months.
The photo series has been featured in the Stand Global.