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AH: I found things associated with the homeless living at the river’s edge. Homelessness is a theme that comes and goes in my work—a thread. It’s not just stuff that washed in but things that have been left behind—like a paper bag with some medical items found under a bridge. And there were wet shoes someone left to dry on some rocks.
AH With the first body of work I had to do more exploring. I had a little backpack, my camera and tripod, but also a pair of binoculars. It could be quite dangerous—meaning there might only be one way in and out. This was along the freeway systems where people can’t see you, which is why some people live there. I wanted to see these places, but not when people were there, so I’d go in the middle of the day. People were usually out collecting cans or trying to get food. And you have to realize, many are actually working as well. Some are Mexican immigrants who have just come over—laborers. I would scope out such places with the binoculars, then figure a way over there. It was difficult, not only because it was dangerous but because some of these people were obviously on drugs. There are whole categories of different people who are homeless, so it’s difficult in that sense. I had my dog with me, which was a little diversion sometimes. If people are around, I’m just looking for my dog. So I had different ways of being careful.
The title, Forever, comes from Lewis Baltz’s text, “Forever Homeless,” which was in the earlier book. Landscapes for the Homeless is 1988–91 and these newer pictures are 2007–2012. It’s a very different body of work and not so dangerous because I’m looking at places that are more exposed. People are sleeping under a bridge, but it’s in the main thoroughfare near downtown LA. The photographs were made from a site where somebody actually slept. Some of them are active, some abandoned, but they’re all real...
