Remember This House
Remember This House is a visual allegory interpreted through the lens of vintage Polaroid cameras and expired instant film. Imagined, staged, and photographed in the Summer of 2012 at the former West 24th Street studio of Richard Avedon, with additional images from Hotel Chelsea (West 23rd Street), and the surrounding neighborhoods.
The setting is Hotel Chelsea with a cast of three characters whose temperament are that of New York City - tough, kind, and smart. A mass of antlers speaks to the shedding of past seasons and power; while masks act as shields, protection, and transformation. The raw, rough-hewn beauty of the objects are presented as a supporting cast, echoing the spirit of the hotel and city.
Remember This House speaks to the spectrum of the human experience, while weaving themes of subtle regret, melancholy, reflection, and emotional realization.
Not everything that is faced can be changed,
but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot
live without, and know we cannot live within.
- James Baldwin
The online presentation previews the first twelve of approximately one hundred photographs executed in 2012 from the project Remember This House. The unique 4.2 x 3.5 inch (11 x 9 cm) Polaroids were scanned with the frame, cropped to the image size 3.1 x 3.1 inches (8 x 8 cm), then printed in 2025 at up to 10 times their original size.
The project was named after the title of an unfinished personal manuscript by American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin, which was sold to McGraw-Hill. Following Baldwin's 1987 death, the publisher sued his estate to recover the advance they had paid him - the lawsuit was subsequently suspended. The memoir remains unreleased.
Click images to enlarge —
Sky Scream
Remember This House
Remember This House (Untitled 2)
Remember This House (Untitled 31)
Remember This House (Untitled 1)
Iron Stairwell
Remember This House (Untitled 46)
Remember This House (Untitled 34)
Trouble Light (No. 1)
Dried Okra
Remember This House (Untitled 32)
Hydrangea
All images and content presented herein
copyright R U H L
Reproduction requests are granted without discrimination. All inquires may be directed to: ruhl@ruhl.nyc
© R U H L 2025
All rights reserved