Still Lives

According to a recent government report, there are currently more than 550,000 homeless people in the United States. In New York City, more than 60,000 people are sleeping in shelters every night, a number that almost doubled over the past decade.

STILL LIVES challenges a society that allows homelessness to exist and perpetuate. It does so not by depicting homeless people, but rather through a series of still life photographs portraying objects and belongings of people who have experienced homelessness, with whom I collaborated. The images were made with a large-format film camera, at the places where my collaborators currently live, using available light, cardboards and other makeshift backdrop materials. Referencing the rich tradition of still life paintings, the images intend to spark a critical dialogue about materialism, how we value objects and human beings, and how perceptions could be changed. After years of collaboration, STILL LIVES grew into BEING THERE.