Piece Description
Medium: Photography
Dimensions: 4 ft by 2 ft
The condition of homelessness has become intertwined with Los Angeles. Seen on almost every street corner from Santa Monica to Hollywood, people who experience homelessness are seen as a part of the LA aesthetic, and its dirty glamour. In “Look Away” I attempt to capture the side of homelessness we as a society choose to ignore: their humanity. I chose to capture this through a series of photographs that convey the truth of their situations. I forced myself to imagine what I would have to do in order to complete basic tasks if I was homeless. I placed a model in these imagined situations and asked him to engage in activities we no longer appreciate, from washing clothes to sleeping. With this piece I hope to show that homelessness is a real issue that involves real people; the homeless are not just props on a movie set and as such we cannot just look away because their livelihood makes us uncomfortable, but instead should reach out and do what we can to help others.
