Photographer and Visual Artist Luca Aimi is the Edge of Humanity Magazine contributor of this social documentary photography.  These images are from his project ‘The Water Benjamin Zone‘. To see Luca’s projects click on any image.

 

Drugs and alcohol addiction as well as cold and hunger are part of the everyday life .
Drug addiction is part of daily life .

 

The homeless in the park try to stay in one place as much as they can to watch over their belongings and space.
The homeless in the park try to stay in one place as much as they can to watch over their belongings and space.

 

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“The Walter Benjamin Zone” is my reflection on a park. The area actually exists, but this is a project that can be added to, and can represent any situation of urban poverty. The Walter Benjamin park in the city of Barcelona is located in an area thronging with tourists, just a few meters from La Rambla, beside the sea. The park was chosen to unravel the threads spun by the spider’s web that is society, in an attempt to understand what goes on in there and how people share the same urban space they live in. Here we find a place under the surface of which different people and different dynamics coexist. People who for a variety of different reasons ended up making this place their own. An area where cold, hunger, drug or alcohol addiction exist and are part of everyday life. The park reflects the contrast that marks society: on the one hand, a city that welcomes tourists, offering them services, shops, restaurants and entertainment, guaranteeing income in the process; on the other, a city that ousts the inhabitants of its streets, confining them to the margins of society.

 

Homeless sitting on the bench, waiting for the cold night to arrive.
Homeless sitting on the bench, waiting for the cold night to arrive.

 

Homeless from Romania with tattoo of his daughter 'Alexandra' . He left her behind.
Homeless from Romania with tattoo of his daughter ‘Alexandra’ . He left her behind.

 

Franco has lived on the streets for most of his life. The survives by making art pieces out of discarded objects he finds.
Franco has lived on the streets for most of his life. The survives by making art pieces out of discarded objects he finds.

 

Park resident for the last four years. He arrived for Pakistan eight years ago.
Park resident for the last four years. He arrived for Pakistan eight years ago.

 

Fabio is Italian, he comes from a military family. In the pass, he was an active soldier Asia.
Fabio is Italian, he comes from a military family. In the pass, he was an active soldier Asia.

 

Couple in a relationship for eight months. She is Canadian, he is Polish , they met at the park.
Couple in a relationship for eight months. She is Canadian, he is Polish , they met at the park.

 

Homeless hide his belongings before he goes looking for something to eat.
Homeless hide his belongings before he goes looking for something to eat.

 

Morning routine for the ones without a roof over their heads.
Morning routine for the ones without a roof over their heads.

 

See also:

Il Popolo Del Fiume

By Luca Aimi

 


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