Artist Statement

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Keenly aware of the global pandemic COVID-19, I am extremely interested in learning how the homeless are affected by a virus that knows no limits and has the ability to take all without regard to race, sex, religion or financial status. People living outside of four walls are one of our most fragile and at-risk groups. I am concentrating on a demographic of people who are often overlooked as we grapple with how to handle this population when we are not in a global pandemic. I seek to learn and expose how the homeless are individually affected by disease risk from their own personal point of view. By conducting informal, causal interviews and making photographic portraits with homeless people, I will shed light upon how the pandemic is affecting the people who both choose to live on the street and those who feel they have no other place to go. The CDC has just released proof that this novel Coronavirus is spread through the air and the six-foot distance rule is not enough to protect humans from contact. It is important to learn how a homeless person feels about moving into shelters vs. living in outdoor encampments, or even accepting hand-outs in a time when a friendly hand-shake greeting is taboo.

 

Memory is a gift - and a fleeting one at that – and, as the world revolves, I see the homeless who are blatantly visible to me, yet become invisible as I return to my home and shut the door on them – and the germs that are seemingly trying to invade my personal space.  I use photography to document the world around me, and to draw attention to things that are often overlooked. By putting a personal story with a face, I focus on a moment in time after engaging  with people in an environment they find themselves most comfortable or uncomfortable in. Making time to stop and talk to America’s homeless population wherever I travel, spending a few minutes listening to individuals who often tell me about their plight and how they ended up in their current situation, and making portraits with them gives a voice if only for a moment. Homelessness is a universal human condition I call the ‘invisible visible’.

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My methods are born out of my personality: as a genuine people lover and a believer in the inherent good of mankind, I approach strangers with a smile. My natural instinct for street smarts along with the gift of common sense regarding my own personal safety have served me well over the years that I have been communicating with strangers. My camera often times serves as the ice-breaker that starts a conversation  as many homeless people will call out to me as I walk by and ask if I will take their photo. Knowing they may never see a hard copy I have been asked to email or text a far away relative which I happily do.  As it turns out, the visible do not necessarily want to remain invisible, and they are not shy about asking or engaging me to make portraits with them. Not surprisingly to me, they actually care about the image I have made and ask to be sure I use "the best one" or feature their "good side."  My materials are simple: my camera and lenses, SD cards, computer, and editing software where I tweak, color correct, crop and manage my images.