Picturing Addiction: The Work of Chris Arnade

Chris Arnade

It’s not uncommon to encounter ruinous examples of drug addiction in New York City on a daily basis. When I see grimy, young opiate addicts nodding out on the sidewalk middle of the day or aggressively panhandling, often with their dogs, even though I am substance abuse counselor it’s difficult to feel empathetic. 

Even the most compassionate of us flinch with judgment and hopelessness when confronted with such characters. It looks as if the most seriously addicted — street addicts — have refused help. The assumption is that they have given in to their addiction; they have resigned themselves to the misery of their situations. 

Chris Arnade, the street photographer/activist, focuses mostly on individual addicts and sex workers who stay/work around Hunt’s Point in the Bronx, an area not likely to be in any New York City travel guide. His work is similar to social documentary photographers like Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine, who used photography to expose social problems affecting the poor and the exploited. Likewise, Arnade’s work makes us take account of individuals whom we choose to not see. Considering street addicts as a group conveniently minimizes the problem of drug addiction. Arnade’s startling portraits and text makes us see individuals. His work humanizes a group of people who makes us uncomfortable. We find that we can identify with their desire for a better future.

Chris Arnade

In the individual stories we also see the complex interplay of societal problems that continue to fester: poverty and the rising number of the poor, homelessness, lack of affordable housing (a particular issue in New York City), inadequate health care for both physical and mental health, an education system that fails the most vulnerable, the constant traumatizing presence of violence in poor neighborhoods, appallingly poor access to drug treatment in a city where most addicts who need treatment end up in jail rather than a treatment facility.