Marie

I meant to write this back in May when I actually took the pictures, but better late than never.

If you were in New York around that time, you probably saw a lot of Marie.


















Marie is from the Bronx, and as you can see, she has had about 20 amputations.

Sometimes Marie is very small:



















Sometimes Marie is very big:

















Anti-smoking campaigns are surely a worthy cause, but this one bothered me. How often does Marie's situation actually occur? To treat a rare worst-case scenario as the inevitable consequence of smoking is a troublesome tactic.

By the time I left New York in August, the 'Marie' campaign had ended. The pictures are from the Union Square subway station, a very big station and one which was nothing but wall-to-wall Marie for a good month. This station was part of my daily commute so I got a good long look at Marie twice a day. If I ever start smoking, I will certainly consider quitting.