Shuran Huang

United States

Series: Strands of Love

In 1983, Collins Jr. and his wife, Juanita Collins opened the Collins Barber & Beauty Shop at the corner of South Crouse Avenue and Fayette Street in Syracuse, New York. When Carlton passed away in 2014, Mr. Charleston Collins, their youngest son, and his wife, Mary Collins, continued to maintain the safe and respectful space their father and mother worked so hard to nurture. This project came from my desire to document the impact of a family living in a diverse community for over a half-century. The culture the family preserve in this multigenerational barbershop deeply attracts me as a contrast to my personal experience observing traditions in China fading away. The family’s close relationship evoked my sensitivity to vulnerability and intimacy as well as my deep longing to experience the close connections of home and family that were missing from my own childhood. During this process of documentation, my eyes were also opened to the strength of their faith. Part of the project was about the faith and how the faith contributes to his willingness to help out in the community starting from their connections with loyal customers within the barbershop.