Sept. 23, 2020 — They lay by wheelchairs on the sidewalk, on benches, along storefronts and in the park where CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Professor of Art History Irina D. Costache, Ph.D., likes to play tennis with her husband, Cristian Costache.
The Costaches would leave their Los Angeles home to head for the tennis courts and pass one homeless person after another on their way.
“We’ve been in town for 41 years,” said Cristian, a professional tennis instructor and multimedia artist. “In the last few years, the number of the homeless people has gone up tremendously. One day a few years ago, Irina said ‘These people have become invisible. We have to do something to make people aware of their plight.”
Using only their iPhones, the Costaches began shooting photos to tell part of the evolving story of Los Angeles homelessness. Six years and about 700 photos later, the Costaches have curated “Sidewalk Inn,” a collection of 40 photos of Angelenos experiencing homelessness.
The collection goes on display online beginning Sept. 20 through Oct. 24. The original plan was for the exhibit to open at the Jose-Drudis Biada Art Gallery at Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles, but pandemic requires that the exhibition be virtual.
“Most of the photographs are people asleep,” Irina said. “I think sleep is the most powerful human equalizer. It is when we all are most vulnerable and sleep is such an important aspect of all of our lives, yet these people are in this horrible situation. It really aims to make us reflect on the fact that these people are not statistics or a number. It’s a reality. These are people just like ourselves.”
The project was done in the spirit of American artist Andy Warhol, Irina explained. Warhol was known for his knack for irony with his pop art and edgy take on American culture.
“In some photographs, you see a homeless person sleeping on the sidewalk by a mattress store and there’s a big sign that says ‘Beautyrest,’ and this person has a wheelchair next to him,” Irina said. “You realize how transparent these people have become. In another there is a homeless person next to a huge ad for red wine and then the text reads: ‘You’ll never guess what’s coming soon.’”
Cristian was startled one day when he saw a tennis racket leaning on a wheelchair and realized the man in the wheelchair was a fellow tennis instructor he has known for 35 years.
“The last four or five years he’s been homeless,” Cristian said. “He doesn’t want any financial help, but his condition has been deteriorating.”
The Costaches took care not to show anyone’s face so as to respect the individuality of each person who is at a difficult moment in their lives. But they also wanted the collection to remind us all that homelessness is not something that can only happen to other people.
“These are people just like us and it doesn’t take much for us to get in that situation,” Irina said. “And it’s not easy to get out of. Some are elderly and have medical issues. There are going to be more and more people out of work. In a very drastic way, it’s a kind of self-portrait for all of us.”
“Sidewalk Inn” will also include a handmade book of 35 extra photographs. To view “Sidewalk Inn” visit: https://www.msmu.edu/resources-culture/jose-drudis-biada-art-gallery/exhibits/keen.php through Oct. 23.