Over the last couple of years, the resort town of Seaside Heights, New Jersey has managed to survive the brunt of Hurricane Sandy and a devastating fire that claimed nearly half of its boardwalk. Yet, the same cannot be said about the hordes of younger tourists that have scared off both families of tourists and locals.
There's a lot to read into in Seaside: the destruction of the middle class, the psychological effects of climate change, what Fireball Whiskey can do to a community. But there's also a deranged, undeniable kind of humanity in this degeneration – a beauty that's beautiful in the way ruins are beautiful, the beauty of surviving. Seaside is my church, and the creatures that inhabit it are my people. Here's some photographs of both.
Annons
See more of Russ's work here.Does your town or city qualify for paradise status? Feel free to send your pitches to nordics@vice.com. Don't be shy.Previous Paradises:Chicago / Saskatoon / Kitchener / Milan / Reno / Glasgow / Vama Veche Plymouth / Vienna / Honolulu / Katowice / Warsaw / Oslo / Belfast / Stockholm / Detroit / London / Lahti / Budapest / Helsinki / Dublin / Birmingham / Miami / Phoenix / Tbilisi / Los Angeles / Berlin / Rotterdam / Reykjavik
