"Freedom is a luxury vehicle that comes with a hefty price tag. Although we are instructed to believe all Americans can ride “free will” bare back, this is not the case. Today, there are some people who have turned their lenses toward the restrictions some Americans face and bring them into focus. Nick Green is one of these people. "

BUST  is a photo essay by Nick Green made over a period of three years while working on assignment in Oahu, Hawaii. During his downtime on the island, he kept his camera in hand but turned his back on the white sand beaches he was hired to photograph and chose to face the darker side of paradise. 

A stone’s throw away from the Oahu’s idyllic coastline is an environment seldomly documented and rarely shared. This unmarketable side of Hawaiian real estate is home to the same severe poverty, economic oppression, and lifestyle that people think they are flying away from when they book their travel from the mainland or elsewhere. 

Green photographed a series of abandoned vehicles that litter the sides of roads, driveways, lots, or anywhere else on the island that these machines chose to no longer serve their operators. His photographs document the final resting place of each driver’s journey, and transform each abandoned vehicle into a tombstone that marks the grave of their freedom to navigate society. Some of these cars bear an epitaph as bleak as it is hopeful -  mostly along the lines of “Please Tow” or “Not Abandoned,” however, many maintain their anonymity. Although these nondescript monuments lack a marker, their message is clear: Paradise isn’t just an escape, it is also a prison. 

In case you missed the show. Virtual tour here: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=piukuePyhJS&referrer=https://shitartclub.com/