It is not always easy to understand the feelings of other people by talking about them or to them. Sometimes, it is more revealing to look metaphorically at their shadows and what remains in the physicality of their surroundings.
The dictum, it is difficult to understand hunger with a full belly, rings true on this topic.
Here, I have attempted to reflect upon homelessness by exploring and illustrating the belongings the Melbourne’s homeless surround themselves with. In doing so, I draw a parallel between the conditions experienced by refugees who are displaced from another country, and those who are displaced by their own country.
Both the refugees and the homeless are currently being admonished as a burden to the community by the very people who are most capable of helping.
The generalised opinion that they “choose their own circumstances” can be disproved when one studies where they live and what they bring with them.
Dianne Arbus insisted on the humanity of the homeless and rejected. I commend her and seek to do the same.
All images been taken by iPhone SE.