As glass was being swept up, damages repaired, and the fence placed around the U.S. Capitol grounds after the insurrection on January 6th, 2021, I started taking walks around the parameter to photograph. With the public prohibited from entering what has been called “The People’s House,” I started thinking of how the Capitol, the building itself, exists in our lives. Visually, it’s shorthand for our Government. Metaphorically, the Capitol represents the rights and freedoms enjoyed by American citizens.

The Capitol building is not visible from everywhere in D.C. but its presence is constantly felt. From under the dome comes our laws, our culture clashes, our history, and our future as a nation. Every so often these jurisprudential and philosophical aspects of the Capitol give way to the more, well, pedestrian, when streets are closed during protests, rallies, and motorcades.

As I walk the streets of D.C. photographing I keep thinking of Katsushika Hokusai’s series of ukiyo-e woodcuts, Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji. In Hokusai's vision the sacred mountain is eternal and indifferent to the world of people. The Capitol, as a physical presence seen from afar, feels as indifferent as Mt. Fuji. Because the Capitol is a human construction we imbue it with layers of meaning. It’s a symbol of freedom built, to a large extent, by slaves. It’s a hallowed place that’s found on t-shirts, key-chains, and hats in every tchotchke shop in D.C. From reverence to scorn the deeper meanings of the Capitol are what we project on to it.

The U.S. Capitol Building is what it needs to be, for everyone.