IDYLL

Idyll is a lyrical interrogation of the American Dream set in Paterson, New Jersey, told through the singular experience of America’s first industrial city and its people. The documentary project began in 2016. 

Born and raised in New Jersey, Todd R. Darling photographed Paterson because it was a prototype for industrial cities and represents the myth of America. Inspired by local poets William Carlos Williams and Allen Ginsberg, Darling wandered the city crafting an allegory about America, delivered through the city of Paterson and her people. 

Paterson is the second most densely populated city in America after New York.

About the photographyer 

Todd R. Darling is an American documentary photographer based in Hong Kong for sixteen years, where he began his career photographing the Umbrella Movement for Polaris Images in 2014. He studied Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism at the International Centre of Photography and the Eddie Adams workshop XXX in 2017. 

Inspired by local poets William Carlos Williams and Allen Ginsberg, Darling wandered the city crafting an allegory about America, delivered through the city of Paterson and her people. 

He’s currently studying at the Savannah College of Arts and Design.