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| Photo by Mike Brodie http://mikebrodie.net |
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| Photo by Mike Brodie http://mikebrodie.net |
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| Photo by Mike Brodie http://mikebrodie.net |
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| Photo by Mike Brodie http://mikebrodie.net |
The images remind me of my youthful days as a punk rocker, hanging out with squatters and train hoppers. I was a runaway for a summer, sleeping in my 1972 Gremlin, at punk houses, by the train tracks, and on riverbanks. It scares me to think how vulnerable I was at 17 years old. I felt safe with my friends, and thank god my instincts were right. I escaped the lifestyle unscathed, but many of my friends were not so lucky. I knew homeless boys who were raped under bridges and teenage girls who overdosed in vacant lots. At least four of my friends from that era are dead - victims of the streets and/or drugs.
Mike Brodie (a.k.a. the Polaroid Kidd) train hopped for years in the mid 2000s, capturing his friends on film. The subjects of his photos have very few opportunities, yet live a life of total freedom. Like the dichotomy that is their lives, dueling emotions surface when I look at Brodie's work. Part of me wants to hop on the next train. Then I focus on the kids' dirty hands and remember the smell, and the emotional instability of life with squatter kids. Its impossible to not be affected by these photos.
Check out his website here: http://mikebrodie.net
Click here for a guide to hobo symbols.
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