Last year, my husband and I took a very short (and very rare) vacation to Baltimore, MD. Strolling the streets of Fells Point, I noticed some rust on a lamp post I simply could not pass up. As we approached my new subject, we were greeted by two men, who were sitting on the steps of the adjacent abandoned building. I started a friendly conversation with them, while I pursued the rusty lamp post with my camera. When I finished shooting, we learned that the building had been the set from a TV drama series called “Homicide: Life on the Street.”
A month later, I watched a documentary that shared stories of people reaching out to the lost and “untouchables” living in poverty and oppression around the world. The film mentioned an organization called “NightLight International,” whose mission is to help women and children get off the streets and out of the sex industry. They are based in Bangkok, Thailand, but also serve women in Los Angeles and Atlanta. NightLight enables these women and children to rediscover their dignity, and provides a program of holistic transformation that ultimately empowers them to live and work in their community.
Immediately, I knew that this image — with its bright symbol of love amidst the crumbling surface of the lamp post — had to be connected to this organization. I purposefully left this particular image untitled, as it stands for every woman and child who, through its purchase, is given a new beginning.
Several sizes are available, and all the profits from the sale of this image will go directly to NightLight International.
This print may be ordered from my website or purchased from the images available at Surface Artist Co-op.