August Popkin

Statement:
Part of a larger skinhead story that I have been working on since 2003, these images of Latino skins were shot between the end of 2006 and 2007. Unlike the non-political skins featured in the larger body of work, these guys have no problem repurposing Nazi symbols to their own ends. They use them to represent the pride that they take in their own heritage. This leads to some interesting combinations of swastikas and stormtroopers next to Aztec warriors slaying conquistadors.
I shot these images in a tattoo shop owned by one of the subjects as well as at "tattoo parties" in private residences in Newark NJ.

August Popkin is a documentary photographer based out of New York City, and is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts. His work has been in several group shows, and was also published in a recent issue of Mass Appeal magazine.