I think we’re all born as equals. Princes and paupers all enter the world as helpless babies. Some have it easy, with privilege and contentment flowing like a stream over them. Others toil from sunup to sundown to find nothing worth celebrating. What we do and the choices we make does not change our net worth. The concept of Imageo Dei – Latin for “Image of God” – infers the value and worth of who we are does not come from who we make ourselves out to be – it comes from our being. Our human-ness. A convict and a king are of equal significance. Each of the people in these photographs have come from somewhere different, made their own choices, but still are all equals. Society may have told these people they are worth either more or less than the next person, but are they? It’s quite popular to call for the abolishment of the caste system in India, but too little is being said about our own societal hierarchy.
The goal of this project is to give you a little face time with people you may pass by in other contexts and to encourage you to connect with the Imageo Dei within. I find it far too easy to walk down the street with my head down, watching the sidewalk cracks pass by. It takes effort to slow the pace, to take in and participate in your immediate surroundings. I believe that if we get to know one another, we will see that we are not so different; we will see the Imageo Dei in one another.
These are all people I have met on the streets of Vancouver, and have allowed me to make a quick portrait of them.
