About this project

• The individuals featured in this exhibition are being financially compensated.
  
• These kickstarting funds allow the formation of the Non Profit 501c3 for the project to manage the rights of the images moving forward.
• Some of the 40 images will have an abstract Modern Art feel for those with that taste for your wall - you may chose which limited edition image to receive. 
• Homeless organizations will have permission to use the images rights free. 
• Some of the individuals to be featured in the project live on the street out of the skid row area and are out of the agency eye.
• The project team will work closely with relevant agencies in an ongoing capacity to give the best possible care to the individuals featured . Making resources generated from the images available when appropriate.
• People who live on the street come from all walks of life - some happy, some sad and some that require specific medical attention not found on the street. 
• Part of this initiative will be filmed for a future documentary. Executive and Associated producer levels with IMDB credits are available at this stage please contact the project team directly.     

"From My Mothers Womb" (inspired by William)

A photography exposé project in Los Angeles, CA (Skid Row) 

FROM MY MOTHER’S WOMB is a developing photography exposé and traveling exhibit that puts a human face on a human problem – people living on the streets of Los Angeles, one of the most affluent cities to live, also tagged the “homeless capital of the world.” 

Forty(40) fine art images will take shape to reveal the souls behind the images captured by this emerging, award-winning fine art photographer.  A high profile exhibition of the photographs will initially follow in Los Angeles, November 2011.

The project will heighten the reality of the human condition revealed by the camera. It will create a compelling exhibition where the work can be shown in not only a physical  form but also digital space. The project is designed to grow to national exhibits – then  look to evolve globally.

The “faces” may be in Los Angeles, but how did they get there? All we know is that the individuals in the photos did, in fact, come into the world through their mother’s womb - and that they have had a journey leading them to live on Skid Row, where nearly 10,000 people have no where to sleep every night. The result of their journey will be revealed and documented in the photos.

Graham John Bell’s art will tell this unforgettable human story. As a fine art photographer, Graham has taken portraits in many walks of life - from Academy Award winning actor Jeff Bridges and numerous music industry luminaries to his “Public Transportation Series” in Los Angeles that reveals the struggle and hardship of those who rely on the city’s little known train every day. His work is marked by an unabashed ability to reveal one’s soul captured in a split of a second.

No stranger to the challenges of the street, Graham has been a qualified social worker who worked with at-risk youth in London and Essex, England for many years. With this brings no denial, detachment or fantasy about this “homeless” project. It is simply the reality of life on the street, which is part of a life’s journey like any other. So often homelessness is documented from a distance where the camera enforces a feeling of “do not touch” or “this could never be me.” This project will aim to put a different face on this epidemic in affluent American cities. 

There is also hope in this project, not only in bringing human understanding (a first step in finding solutions) – there potentially is a chance someone will (if wanted) “be found” through the project.

Ultimately, “From My Mother’s Womb” is a moving journey of discovery that will spread the concept and people’s stories artistically across the globe. In turn, the project will expose a better understanding which is needed to lead to solutions by esteemed social thinkers and problem solvers who are moved by the exhibit. 

William’s Story:

“I found William while I was downtown on a Sketcher’s shoot with another photographer-friend, Steve Bonini (of Nike acclaim). William came up, looked me in the eye, then did a little dance that made me smile. It reminded me of my spirited mother-in-law. I asked him where he was from and he said ‘From my mother’s womb!’ After hearing his more detailed story and that he came from the same city as Steve (Portland), I shouted across to Steve that “William’s from your neck of the woods!’ William whispered in my ear “Is Steve from his mother’s womb too?’ It struck a major chord with me. I asked if I could take his portrait. William initially said, ‘Yes for 25 cents’ but then said he was only joking – he got the two dollars I had in my wallet. After I posted William’s portrait, the reaction was equal to, if not more than what I received after posting my recent Jeff Bridges’ portrait. People wanted to know more and I now want my photos to tell more of the story.” Graham John Bell

Investing in: Graham John Bell

“My intent is to apply the same skill set and approach used to photograph Oscar-winning actors and famous musicians to 40 people that live on the street in downtown Los Angeles. The project will develop a dedicated website which is fully ISO and Droid compatible and when a higher level of funding is achieved, more apps will be developed to spread its effect. The whole purpose is to put a human face on a human problem that is able to kick start something far larger.”

Recent Accolades 

• 2009 UCLA Annual Award for Mastery & Excellence
  
• Studied under acclaimed photographer, Eleonora Ghioldi, (who works closely with LACMA and Fahey/Klein Galleries in Los Angeles, and has worked with world-renowned photographers Helmut Newton and Greg Gorman)
  
• Featured photographer for Grammy Award-winning Arcade Fire’s “Suburbs” project – (2) photographs featured as stage backdrop at Madison Square Garden for Terry Gillian filming
  
• SmashBox – (2) portraits (“Public Transportation Series”) and (“Dive Bar Series”) featured in 2010 Face Off Final 50 (haled as favorite image by acclaimed art blogger, Michelle McCormack – Lovethecool.net)
  

Your investment will also

• Go towards the individuals featured in this exhibition being financial compensated..
  
• Assist in the formation of the Non Profit 501c3 for the project.
• Importantly allow a dedicated full-time schedule by the artist to cover the subjects. To capture the real personalities behind the homeless individuals with time being paramount to establish the trust needed to get at the soul of the individual reflected in the photograph.
  
• Will pay for all art production costs, equipment rental and liability insurance.
  
• Will finance marketing and execution of a major exhibit including all event production and venue costs.
  
• Will enable the development of a dedicated “key influencer” list of people who will spread the word of the project.
  

Should we exceed our initial targeted starting  funds ($14,000)  additional pledges will be applied to the following

• Have part of the project filmed for marketing and development tools.

• Create educational tools in association with the traveling exhibition.

• Hire project PR representative.

• Creation of specific dedicated project Apps.

• Ability to rent larger formatted cameras. Phase 65, Hasselblad 4D-60.

Graham John Bell - Fine Art Photography site 

Kickstarter project PDF click here >>