Sidewalk, the winner of the 1999 European Publishers Award for Photography, is an exceptionally strong series of street photographs of New York. As we follow Jeff Mermelstein through the city we are staggered by its dramas and mystery. We confront characters who seem hyper-real, as they wander the streets as if in a dream -- crazed, paranoid, or simply pressured. And we come across incidents that seem totally surreal -- the smoking shoe, the burnt-out diner, the sidewalk that looks as if it has flowed with blood. These photographs are exhilarating and memorable, immensely funny yet deeply disturbing, and were rapturously received by a large audience at this year"s Aries International Photography Festival.