When I started working on STILL LIVES back in 2017, more than 550,000 people in the United States were homeless, and in New York City, more than 60,000 people were sleeping in shelters every night. According to recent reports, the current number of people who experience homelessness is 650,000, and in NYC, more than 147,500 people live in shelters, thousands are unsheltered, and more than 200,000 doubled-up in other people’s homes.

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 more than four years of collaboration, STILL LIVES grew into BEING THERE.