When Thomas Halaczinsky arrived in New York from his native Germany in 1991, he joined the crowds of water-gazers that have stood at the Battery since the city’s early days. Like many of them, he yearned to set sail.

Fascinated by the region’s vast tapestry of islands, where history and culture and nature and urbanity coexist, Halaczinsky began to explore this magical world by sailboat.

During his quest to photograph, film and write about the sprawling New York archipelago, Halaczinsky discovered hidden treasures and secret stories, private and secluded sites, prison cells and unmarked graves, former missile silos, and a high-security lab. He documented his findings in the 2018 photographic and literary logbook Archipelago New York, and in a three-part documentary series by the same title (2021/2022).

Offering a ten-plus-year retrospective of Halaczinsky’s work, Manhattan to Plum Island brings to life his exploration of these islands and their oft-hidden stories. Halaczinsky’s mesmerizing photographs are accompanied by a video of his sea-going journey, nautical charts, and notes from his logbook. The exhibition also highlights Halaczinsky’s in-progress feature documentary on Plum Island, while a special installation, Approaching the End of the Rope, reflects what exploring these islands reveals: that everything is connected and every action has consequences.

Aside from the documentary section of the exhibition in the main gallery, Manhattan to Plum Island includes an adjacent room that consists solely of Halaczinsky’s abstract seascapes. He describes their inspiration as follows:

“The line between water and sky is the orientation and the hold for any sailor alone on the water. Light and reflection distort this existential line, creating Mirages at Sea, as these photos reveal.”

Halaczinsky’s retrospective exhibition thus oscillates between the thrill of exploration and the dreamlike experience of floating on what Melville called

“the watery part of the world.”