Corpus Christy Monastery | Unsung Heroes/Beyond the Uniform
Human Imprint | Mís Raises

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Jane at Astor, Human Imprint, 2004

Human Imprint is a social exploration of humanity, an attempt to connect humanity back to itself. It was photographed within the New York City Subway System, because of the different elements of human activity that can be found. The range of emotions is extraordinarily complex and harsh, a reflection of the subway system itself. The project seeks to let the viewer, really see others. It seeks to let people know that there are human beings on the platforms, stairs, trains, and working the transit system.

To capture the rapid pace of the subway system along with the human element (the unnatural with the natural), I devised the idea of using single images created on film, then layering images in Photoshop, then creating a 4x5" negative to create the final image.

Underground, while ridding on the trains we are so focused on a destination and not on the actual experience of the travel. We do not notice the woman or man to the right or left, the elderly needing a seat but is too proud to ask, the pregnant woman standing hoping her ankles would magically un-swell. So we ignore and look away or pretend to read a book or play a game, so that we don't have to get up and do the right thing. Because, of course we are deserving of the seat too, we think.

We are scared. We are scared to care for others. Scared to let others in and find out that we can actually care about something other than ourselves. Scared to find out that other peoples problems are greater than our own. Perhaps scared of finding out that we are all very similar and that, perhaps is the greatest fear.

© Marisol Diaz, 2005

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