EXILE POSTER PROJECT / HOMELESS YOUTH

My poster for the 2012 Exile Poster Project which focused on Homeless Youth.

The initial creative sparks for this poster were identity and child-likeness. I respond most deeply to the fact that young people living on the street have missed the power, beauty, and freedom of being a child. No matter how far removed emotionally they become, the inner longings of childhood are still part of who they are. The tragedy is without the opportunity to fully experience this profound time of life, their life journey is fractured. A serious, survival instinct sets in, but perhaps at the expense of joy, playfulness and wonder. In the creation of this image, I tried to capture the strength and resolve of those young people I've met who have grown up on this street. They exude a seriousness and intensity that is unmistakable, yet it is clear they are marked by the loss of something so essential to vitality and wholeness.