8
street roots
Aug. 5, 2011
Eyes of the streets
Vendors a t Street Roots sister paper in
Scotland embark to docum ent their lives
BY RICHARD FLYNN
S T R E E T M E W S S E R V IC E
n unlikely exhibit by photographers from Glasgow, Scotland’s
streets is on display for fans of urban imagery and gritty
reality from a group of photographers who live with both.
Street Roots was there for the show’s unveiling as part of the 16th
Annual Conference of the International Network of Street Papers,
which is headquartered in Glasgow.
The exhibition is the result of a week-long photography
workshop, which saw four homeless vendors of Scotland’s Big
Issue street paper, a sister paper to Street Roots, being coached on
photography by world-renowned photojournalist David Burnett and
his Photographers For Hope team.
Photographers For Hope is a group committed to using their
medium-to inspire positive social change, and collaborate with
groups who work to improve the lives of poor and disenfranchised
communities aroufid the world.
The vendors, who had no prior experience using cameras, were
encouraged to capture their lives through photography.
Pictures displayed in the exhibition include shots of homeless
dwellings where they had previously spent the night, as well as self-
portraits and photographs of their friends. Despite being new to
photography, the vendors’ work was challenging and evocative, and
even in the stark representation of homelessness in Glasgow, the
resounding message of the vendors’ photography was one of hope.
When describing his visits to snap photos of troubled places
from his past, vendor Daniel said: “It was just rewarding to go
there and say, ‘That’s not part of my life anymore.... It’s an
amazing feeling, it was amazing working with them, and it’s just
been one of the best experiences of my life. Coming here tonight
has been really memorable, meeting so many people from so many
places and countries. It’s been great.”
Perhaps more so than the pictures themselves, one of the most
powerful aspects of the evening was the very clear friendships that
have formed between the vendors and their Photographer For
Hope coaches, vendor Malky, who described the overwhelming
feeling of seeing his photography on display as he entered the
exhibition, spoke fondly of his time working with David Burnett and
admitted he was “aw eeh it sad.that J j^ team arq
Anna Wang, one of the photographers who was involved in the
project, said her time with the vendors was “a great opportunity
and a great privilege.”
■
See the entire collection atphotographersforhope.org
Above, a self-portrait by Joan, who was left nearly entirely blinded by a car accident
fo u r years ago. Below, Joan on a shoot.
P H O TO BY JO A N
D aniel shot under bridges, above, showing the telltale signs o f where people were living.
BCf?
¿
I H
J
»
. I I I
Left, M alky
chronicled
the places he
has slept,
including
this wet
com er o f a
garage. A t
right, M alky
on a shoot.
H
*, ~ 4 ' V