down below: Turmstraße © Lilly Schwartz 2011
This picture I took on the way back from my tango class yesterday. There is something special about the almost sterile looking tiles in combination with the grubby floor. At one of the other stairs a homeless guy, who always looks completely high on drugs, regularly begs for money with a high-pitched nagging voice. He sounds as if he has already given up on the opportunity that someone might actually be willing to give him money which doesn’t exactly encourage people any further. Although I always notice how strongly he contributes to the flavour of the typical subway experience for me, at the same time he seems to blend into the atmosphere of the station, just like the signs, the frames of the bolted seats, the newspaper stand. People ignore him, because he always stands at the same spot, right at the bottom of the stairs next to the escalator. Every day the same spot, the same tone of voice, the same sentence he says to everyone who walks past. He as a person has become invisible to the people who see him every day.
I too thought that it is interesting how the tiles contrast with the floors!
What a sad end that man has come to, to become invisible. It makes one wonder what brought him to where he is now.
On a positive note, I really like the angle and lines in this photograph.
Oh so many lines in this photo…not too many…but lots! the metal bars remind me of a jail cell…maybe the prison of that invisible homeless man.