Artist Statement
When I first started this project, I envisioned photographingSavannah’s toughest and dirtiest individuals, with the assumption thatthe majority of them would be homeless. It wasn’t until a few weekslater when I realized that wasn’t going to be the case. I feel as if Imade the most obviously incorrect assumption. It turns out only one ofthe men that I interviewed was homeless. Another thing I had to takeinto account was the attitudes of my potential subjects. How manypeople would want to tell their life story and have their picture alongwith it, to a complete stranger? Well, quite a few, actually. I onlygot turned down from a small number of people on my journey, but Ican’t let one thing slow me down.
Now, having completed thisproject, it is clear I did the right thing. My topic went from“homeless people in Savannah” to “Savannah’s interesting people,” and Ithink it was a change for the better. This new premise encouragespeople to read between the lines of these people, and learn who theyreally are.
That’s my reason for being here today.
Bygoing out and finding out who these strangers on the street are, I havelearned more about myself than anything else. I have seen how fortunateI am and how grateful I should be to have the opportunities that I do.I have learned how to handle myself in public conversations with peopleI’ve never met before. I’ve also learned how to get to the root of mysubject. It’s different for every person, but once I tap in to one partof his or her life, a whole new world opens up. A world where thestrong will live, and the weak shall perish; a world where crackcocaine sales is more important than feeding your family; a world wherethe only reason you’re here is because you don’t have the money to goanywhere else. Hard to imagine? It’s a reality for somebody.
Sotake your time and read through my book. I hope my project has asimilar impact that it did on myself. If so, then I’ve done my job.
When I first started this project, I envisioned photographingSavannah’s toughest and dirtiest individuals, with the assumption thatthe majority of them would be homeless. It wasn’t until a few weekslater when I realized that wasn’t going to be the case. I feel as if Imade the most obviously incorrect assumption. It turns out only one ofthe men that I interviewed was homeless. Another thing I had to takeinto account was the attitudes of my potential subjects. How manypeople would want to tell their life story and have their picture alongwith it, to a complete stranger? Well, quite a few, actually. I onlygot turned down from a small number of people on my journey, but Ican’t let one thing slow me down.
Now, having completed thisproject, it is clear I did the right thing. My topic went from“homeless people in Savannah” to “Savannah’s interesting people,” and Ithink it was a change for the better. This new premise encouragespeople to read between the lines of these people, and learn who theyreally are.
That’s my reason for being here today.
Bygoing out and finding out who these strangers on the street are, I havelearned more about myself than anything else. I have seen how fortunateI am and how grateful I should be to have the opportunities that I do.I have learned how to handle myself in public conversations with peopleI’ve never met before. I’ve also learned how to get to the root of mysubject. It’s different for every person, but once I tap in to one partof his or her life, a whole new world opens up. A world where thestrong will live, and the weak shall perish; a world where crackcocaine sales is more important than feeding your family; a world wherethe only reason you’re here is because you don’t have the money to goanywhere else. Hard to imagine? It’s a reality for somebody.
Sotake your time and read through my book. I hope my project has asimilar impact that it did on myself. If so, then I’ve done my job.
Portraits + Stories