The 'Daze' of our lives: Adam Zhu's new photo book chronicles today's downtown youth culture

Photos by Stacie Joy

East Village native Adam Zhu started shooting on film nearly 10 years ago at age 16. 

As he recently wrote: "Even then, I knew I'd like to see the work physically rather than rush to share it online."

Since his teen years, Zhu, who now lives in Chinatown, has been documenting his downtown experiences and friends, a multi-generational group of skaters, musicians and artists, through his camera. 

You can now see the results of his photography in his first book, a seemingly timeless collection of youth culture titled "Nice Daze." The book "is an homage to Zhu’s formative years populated by friends, lovers, contemporaries and mentors." (You may recognize Zhu's name. In 2019, he successfully launched a petition and raised awareness of the city's plan to cover the ballparks/skate area in Tompkins Square Park with artificial turf.)

This past Saturday, Zhu celebrated the book's release, which coincides with a solo exhibition of his work at CCProjects, a gallery space and cultural center on the second floor at 17 Allen St. (at Canal).

EVG contributor Stacie Joy stopped by the opening to meet up with Zhu ...

... and his friends and contemporaries who stopped by...

Attendees included Pretty Sick's Sabrina Fuentes, who's featured in the show and book...

CCProjects is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. The show will be here until Jan. 8.

The exhibit is curated in collaboration between Zhu and Daisy Sanchez. Copies of the 176-page book, co-published by CCProjects and Paradigm Publishing, are available at the venue as well as online here.