Melting Ice

A collection of photographs involving ice protests in Chicago

1/30/26

Yesterday, Chicago gathered again.

I went to photograph the ICE protest not to explain it, but to witness it. What I saw felt familiar, not because the moment was ordinary, but because this city has returned to the street many times before.

From Haymarket to today, Chicago’s streets have served as a civic space where dignity is asserted publicly. Yesterday’s protest felt rooted in that history. Not loud for the sake of noise, but steady. Patient. Intentional.

What stayed with me were the pauses, the waiting, the listening, the closeness between people. Families, elders, students. Many not there to be seen, but to stand with.

I photographed in black and white to focus on gesture and presence. To let faces, hands, and signs speak without distraction.

These images don’t resolve anything.
They document a city showing up, as it has before, and likely will again.