Supermarket People

A couple of years ago I was standing in a supermarket observing the punters coming and going.

What struck me was that the majority of people(including myself) rarely make an effort to make themselves more presentable in these places. Infact, in some parts of the nation they arrive in their pyjamas, their workwear, or the first thing they find hanging on the back of that chair in the bedroom. If they were visiting somewhere like Brown Thomas etc, they’d most likely make a more serious effort. I was playing games with the faces and found everything from murderers to saints.

I approached three Supermarkets and requested permission to shoot. My plan was to have a simple lighting set-up in one of the quieter aisles and scan the shop for potential and interesting victims. When I found one, I approached and asked very diplomatically if they’d like to participate in my project. More often than not they would agree and there were many great characters but those that wouldn’t were mostly scared by the model release form or concerned that I might be an undercover immigration officer.

Two days in a rural supermarket and one in Dublin (Finglas) resulted in the images below. Four of them were in Finglas. Can you guess which four? What I also find interesting is that sometimes you can discover something more about that person from what they have in their trolley or basket.

It’s very time consuming and most of it is waiting around for that one gem but he/she rarely arrives. I really need to revisit this project.