Lenny Lane

I collect photographs that someone gave up on—tossed in bins, sold for quarters, left behind in houses that outlived their people. The facts are gone, so I make up stories: small victories, local fame, harmless secrets—the good stuff people save for dinner parties. A new name, a small-town triumph, a slightly messier ending.

Each piece pairs a found photograph with a story typed on my old Smith-Corona, giving these strangers one more moment to shine. Every piece is one-of-a-kind.

If no one kept their story, I gave them a new one. Everyone deserves to be the hero of at least one story—even if it's made up.

The pictures once mattered to someone. Now they matter to me. And maybe, once you've found them, to you.

The Other Art Fair (Chicago)