Because my main influence to my project was Jacob Riis' 'How the other half lives', I decided to pay tribute to his work by calling my book after his project.
The front cover image was difficult to decide, because the two chapters in the book look quite different from each other but I wanted on image which would represent them both. I am really happy with this image that I chose because you can tell the man is homeless due to the dirt on his hands and tattered clothes which represents the first chapter of my project. The second chapter is represented in this image by the soup which the man was holding, because the soup was given to the man as a donation, so it represents the support side to the story.
I matched the colour of the binding of the book to the homeless mans coat on the cover, so it looks like the coat wraps around the entire book.
(Below is the introduction I wrote for my project, why ties both chapters together)
'More than one hundred years after Jacob Riis’ book ‘How
the Other Half Lives’, which documented the squalid living conditions found in
New York City slums in the 1880’s. My documentary study illuminates what life
is like for the homeless living in Manchester today, before documenting part of
the support system that is put in place to help those in need.
With the increasing lack of housing and social housing
available, homelessness has become the ‘status’ of significant numbers of
people within Manchester. The images I capture provide the viewer with an
inside perspective of what it might be like to find oneself in a similar
situation as those photographed. I use different techniques and angles to show
the viewer the difficulties that the modern homeless face. This includes
general hygiene issues, drug and alcohol problems, and being constantly being
moved on by the council. These factors mean that the individuals who find
themselves homeless are in a constant downwards spiral of decline that is
incredibly difficult to break.
The second half of my project focuses on the support system that
is helping these certain individuals get back into the community and off the
streets. This part of my project focused on Coventry, which has the second
largest foodbank network in the Country. Most of these organisations are ran
and supported predominantly through the local Churches. Certain individuals
have built upon these small foundations to provide housing and furniture
support for those who have the very least.
This book follows the journey that I have taken into this hidden
world and displays the different people that I have met along the way.'
The last page in the first chapter is this double spread image above, which is a highly impacting image which will stick in the viewers mind and really make them think about how bad someones life must have got for their table to end up looking like this. Then the bible juxtaposes the entire image, and makes one think about who is actually out there to support you when your in your worst place. This links well into the next chapter to the project.
I left a one page blank to signify the changing of chapters, and the image I chose to be the first in this new chapter is the one seen above. It is exactly the same bible as what was on the heroin addicts table, but in a completely different setting. This similarity in the objects ties the two chapters together very well, even though they look at completely different scenes, but which are directly connected through theme.
My book in the end was 58 pages long, which was split directly down the middle to represent the two different chapters inside. I decided to make it a large hardback, because I wanted its scale and build to catch the viewers eye and tell them that this book is important and meant to be viewed. Like the rest of the work that I got printed, including my portfolio pieces and exhibition pieces, the pages are going to be glossy so the images remain vibrant to the eye. I think the book works well to take the viewer on a visual journey throughout my project, the further they get into the book they whitness how my technical practice has developed and improved to show different sides of the housing problem story, and the knock on affect this has to homelessness and vulnerable people.