Emergency Access Area (ongoing project)
Noisy, frentic Santa Monica's Pier has been silenced for a few hours. The sky begins to lighten.
A couple of early-risers exercise before work. A tractor appears far away, ready to clean up the trash. The scattered bundles start to strech and prepare to do their magic: disappear.
2022–
The first time I arrived at Santa Monica’s shore at daybreak I had a very clear idea of the kind of pictures I wanted to take: the odd early surfer, the imposing structures of the empty amusement park, the Harbour Office at the end of the pier, the hollow lifeguard towers... The twilight luminosity was ideal but then, the minute my eye caught the lump on the elevated platform of Tower 16, everything changed.
This ongoing project shows the deep contrasts of the intertwined lives that inhabit the shore of Santa Monica’s South Beach. In daylight, the beach is packed with families, tourists, athletes and bystanders. At night, it becomes the campsite of an army of altogether different people: some. homeless souls, others. plain surfers on a budget, living on dope and waves.
I can't help but wonder who these people are, what brought them to find refuge on the coastline, what's their past but more important, what kind of present and future lays ahead of them.
The beach, a typical symbol of leisure during daytime, transforms into a thought-provoking backdrop that highlights the stark contrast between societal perception and overlooked reality, between carelessness, resilience and vulnerability.
How close do I have to be for you to see me? How many times do you need to move past me to ackowledge me?
How close do I have to be for you to see me? How many times do you need to move past me to ackowledge me?
