On August 18, 2013, Mayor Joseph Curtatone declared, “I wish I was a hipster,” at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Somerville Tiny Museum in Union Square, just half a mile away from my home. The same year, this neighborhood was declared one of “the hottest” on several terrible real estate listicles. The median home price in the city was $418,000.

As of June 2023, I have lived in the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville as a renter for more than 10 years, on a block with houses that boast 3 generational families, tech bros with Teslas and immigrant families trying to make it work. The 3-unit rental home in which I reside is currently valued at $1,361,500.

Once a community defined by blue collar toughness, thriving ethnic enclaves, and a large artist population, Somerville is feeling the strain of gentrification and monetary forces. There is a growing pall over the city, much harder to point to than an easily vilified mobster or politician. My own existence within this community is in flux during the economic swing, and this work reflects a reverie for spaces I know will soon not be accessible to me.

Monetary Violence is an ongoing body of work attempting to weave a narrative between the ever-changing visual landscape of the city and its community players. Those moving to exploit the market, and those trying to preserve it from its eventual erasure. All of whom feel that the invasion of wealth is inevitable; where maybe the only answer is truth of power pretending to be progress. Though Somerville is a place of specificity, these images also serve as a similitude for many communities blighted by economic disparity.