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Life on the Streets by Patrici Flores "There are lots of people who don't go to Shattuck Avenue, who don't go to Telegraph Avenue, because they don't feel safe on the streets of Berkeley." Councilmember Laurie Capitelli, The Daily Californian, 2007 Safety. Discomfort. Eyesores. These are issues that come to mind when thinking about Downtown Berkeley culture - one that is simultaneously slammed and praised for its abundant street inhabitants. The discomfort of constantly refusing change and eye contact to these individuals is perhaps the most difficult aspect of traveling through downtown - busy citizens often brush by the issue of homelessness, rallying for a magical solution. In my photographs, I try to make eye contact with the issue. I examine the hardships of the homeless, but also their vibrancy as individual people. I attempt to understand how they see the city, rather than creating yet another distant perception of them as nuisances or outsiders. This is a document meant to convey their personal realities as fellow citizens of Berkeley.  |
Bill | On the Corner of Oxford and Center Streets
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Martin, student at Laney College | Shattuck Avenue
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Sandy | Shattuck Avenue
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Sandy's Blanket | Shattuck Avenue
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Scrappy | Shattuck Avenue
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Tap and Cleveland, brothers and street comedians | Veterans Building Courtyard
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Tap, Cleveland and Red | Bank of America Plaza, Center Street
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Voodoo and Matt | Shattuck Avenue
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