Timothy Bryan Ghiloni

Soldier
archival ink jet print
8 x 10 in.

Subway Sleepers began as other groups of images have in the past with simple observation. I would ride the train to and from wherever it was I had to go, and I watched the others that did so as well. I became fascinated with those who allowed themselves to fall asleep in the subway system. In time I came to realize that by photographing the somnolent, I am essentially comparing them myself to the sleeper and ultimately coming to identify and relate to my recessed subjects. The images become less about who they are, and more about who we are. We tour here and there, day to day and pay check to pay check, in order to maintain some meager level of existence in this city that ironically never sleeps. We are all New Yorkers in our sleep. We are all Americans in our sleep. We are all people, in our sleep. The activity of sleeping on the subway becomes synonymous with struggle. The working poor, making use of an unfit environment to gain a moments rest. Through these images, I am dealing with my own issues of financial security, how society defines success, and the role that money plays in that definition. I am coming to terms with my economic status and place in life. Suffice to say that I am afraid of never reaching that monetized comfort zone, afraid of never waking up from this pecuniary repose, afraid of never getting off of the subway.

© Timothy Bryan Ghiloni