Hoping is what keeps people alive, motivates them to get out of bed, and encourages them to venture out into the world, working towards their dreams of happiness, fulfilment, and satisfaction. We face wars, injustice, betrayal, natural disasters, and the fear of disappointment, rejection, starvation, pain, and punishment every day for centuries. We leave behind lands, countries, cities, and loved ones for the hope of creating a life that gives us all, or at least some of it. We have been promised bread and butter, and if we work hard, and maybe a cherry on top by politicians who present themselves as being capable of proving it all. Yet the reality speaks for itself when you go up and look down at the world.
This photograph is part of a series called ‘Dreamland’. The USA is renowned as a place where dreams come true, with millions migrating from all over the world in pursuit of their dreams, often risking their lives in the process. However, most discover that reality carries a higher cost than they expected, and they begin spending their dreams just to survive. In my Dreamland series, I aim to depict the daily life of dreamers in real life authentically and question what life is about or for.
