Working in a downtown Los Angeles courthouse, I have encountered low-income people at the mercy of system-driven attorneys; unattended brown and black babies crawling on marble floors; prowling sheriff deputies flirting with teenage girls. I once saw a short man read the palm of a tall and attractive woman outside of a death penalty proceeding.
These and other scenes are simultaneously beautiful and nightmarish, emotional and cold. These are the human dramas that are occurring in the courthouse everyday. I see these scenes because I am a public administrator in the Los Angeles Superior Court. But I am also photographer.
My position in the Los Angeles County Courts grants me access to the people and environments that constitute our nation’s system of justice (and injustice). Since cameras are prohibited in the public spaces of the courthouse, I make my photographs after normal working hours. Inside the courthouse I pose people as litigants, attorneys, judges and other characters to create tableaus, which reveal to the viewer emotional truths which might go unnoticed if not emphasized by the boundaries of a photograph.
As with many Angelenos, I have gone to jury duty selections in downtown LA. The hours of sitting in a room that reminds me a lot of airport waiting rooms - people temporarily occupying space. Currently at Angels Gate Cultural Center down in San Pedro is Camilo Cruz's exhibition "Theater of the Souls" and runs till Aug 29th.
BTW : If you do get call for jury duty, know there is free wifi. Yes, I've actually have blogged while sitting in there. ^^
Angels Gate Cultural Center
3601 South Gaffey St.
San Pedro, CA 90731
LINK : Daily Breeze "Photo exhibit brings out humanity in court system"
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