To Have and Have Not

These photos are part of an ongoing project called “To Have & Have Not” that I hope will influence public opinion about the plight of the underclass: ignored, seemingly faceless people living on the margin who have largely been bypassed by society. In photographing these subjects, I have tried to capture moments when their world and the “real” world brush against each other and to do so in a way that amplifies the gulf between the two. In today’s economic climate, being part of a group that must publicly reach out to others for essential support is not just the result of birth or upbringing. Rather, this human condition has multiple causes and cuts a wide swath through all levels of society; it is, therefore, worthy of universal concern whether one encounters it in New York City, Paris, Sydney, Zagreb, San Francisco or elsewhere.