New York City, Tribute in light II, 2023

Gauthier Bouret  

7086 × 4724 pixels, Fine Art print on baryta paper, mounted on dibond.

New York City, Tribute in Light II

On September 11, 2001, the United States of America was struck by the deadliest terrorist attacks ever perpetrated.
In the morning, two airliners crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York. The two 415-metre towers collapsed less than two hours later.
Every year on the night of September 11-12, New York City stages its Tribute in Light. This is an installation of 88 spotlights on the roof of the Battery Parking Garage, near the World Trade Center site. Aimed skywards and arranged in two squares, the spotlights create two vertical beams of light in the sky, reminiscent of the Twin Towers, paying tribute to the victims.
Beyond the fact that they were not present at the events, it is likely that many people around the world suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result. Even if they didn't experience it directly. More than 20 years later, everyone still remembers what they were doing on September 11, 2001.

I had the opportunity to travel to New York City several times to photograph the commemorations. Every night of September 11, I spent them shooting the Tribute in Light, from New Jersey to the Manhattan Bridge, with a feeling that ranged from fullness to sadness. There was a before and there is now an after. I needed to go, to see, to remember, and to make images.
For New Yorkers, it goes much deeper. According to an extensive survey, 375,000 New Yorkers suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of September 11. This figure does not include other mental problems associated with 9/11. To this day, when you walk down the streets of New York and hear a loud, unusual noise, people stop for a few seconds, stare at each other in amazement, watch the sky.
The Tribute in Light is an annual opportunity to remember and pay tribute to the victims of the attacks. However, some New Yorkers have claimed that the beams of light have rekindled post-traumatic stress disorder, and yet they maintain that it's important to pay tribute, and above all, not to forget.

I don't want to forget either. It's important to remember. Every experience makes us who we are.


"The important thing is not what has been made of us, but what we ourselves make of what has been made of us".

Jean-Paul Sartre