Chicago 2020

A time capsule of Chicago, addressing one of the most challenging years in American history

How is it possible to feel immediately at home in a place you have never seen before? This question still haunts photographer Ryan Bakerink twenty years after he first stepped off the train in Chicago, where he continues to live to this day.

This book is dedicated to the city for which his heart beats and describes a journey of self-reflection that ends in a time capsule of sorts. Throughout 2020, he took photographs in all seventy-seven community areas of the American city to trace his fascination for it, to find his place in it, and to understand how it has shaped him. Chicago 2020 is more than a declaration of love for a city. In a time of social and political turmoil defined by the pandemic, Bakerink discovers hidden treasures amidst the emptiness and the pure beauty of humanity.

Ryan Bakerink is a photographer in Chicago,
IL focusing on social issues and counterculture lifestyle, specifically within
the music industry, off the grid communities, travel, and portraiture.

Ryan seeks to stretch his on personal and
social boundaries by searching for authenticity in the world around him. Having grown up in a rural farming
community in south west Iowa, the fuel for Ryan’s passion is to expand his
horizons beyond what was imaginable in his youth. The ultimate goal of Ryan’s
work has been to pull the curtain back and expose the general public to
lifestyles, communities, and places that have been overlooked to help provide a
greater understanding of human nature.