Dr Mark Chapman, a Lecturer in Film & Television Production at the University of Greenwich, is working on a project to publish a new book - ‘God’s Promises Mean Everything’ - showcasing his photographs and raising awareness of hidden homelessness and the housing crisis.
The proposed book’s subject is a Teesside homeless hostel resident whose day-to-day life Mark has documented over seven years.
The powerful images explore important contemporary themes of addiction, social disconnection and mental illness and it is hoped that they can now be combined, in book form, to provide a visceral and immersive long-term character portrait of one individual.
The project was developed alongside charities PROPS Northeast and Change Grow Live Recovery service (Gateshead) and, if the crowdfunding funding campaign is successful, will see the book published by internationally-renowned Dewi Lewis Publishing.
Of the project, Mark says “I am interested in exploring little-seen British working-class landscapes of which I am intimately familiar. I know there are important, dramatic stories of people in my community - unheard voices facing life and death decisions each day- that are overlooked and even wilfully ignored. This needs to change and I hope ‘God’s Promises Mean Everything’ can be part of that shift.”
To find out more about the project and to watch a short film from Mark please click here.
