Don’t Stand So Close To Me

Don’t Stand So Close to Me is a visual diary of life in New York City during the COVID pandemic years of 2020-2021. Combining images of social distancing markers, masked subway riders, and empty streets with a series of text message exchanges, it documents a city on edge in a time when social cohesion broke down. Published 5 years after New York City went into lockdown, the ruptures in society it captures still resonate today. With an essay by the photographer. Michael Lorenzini is a photographer, archivist, curator and writer based in New York City.