and then how they are fighting
for change, I promise you it is
impossible to judge them.
Q6. When you first
photographed these gang
members with tattoos and
then removed them so they
could see themselves naked
without them, what was their
reaction? Were your images
the inspiration for them to
want to remove them?
SB: I photographed 27 subjects.
When I came up with the project,
I took images of tattooed gang
members of the internet and
tested the concept. I turned it
into a GIFF image showing the
tattoos disappearing, put it on
my phone and went to Homeboy
industries. At Homeboys I showed
It Fabian Debora (the drug
councillor, artist) he loved the
concept. I managed to convince
four homeboys to allow me
to photography them. After a
week I returned to show them
the images and interview them,
not knowing what their reactions
would be, Marcos Luna was the
first interviewed, and his reaction
made me realize what a powerful
concept this was. The message
spread, when I photographed
a homeboy I asked them if
they had friends who might be
interested, It took a while, I tried
to find subjects that were heavily
tattooed especially face to make
sense of the concept. Many of
the Homeboy’s and girls that
I found through H.B Industries
were already going through
tattoo removal, but they were
overwhelmed when they saw the
images, with a mix of emotions,
but it definitely inspired them to
persist.
Q7. These gang-members go
through a “revolving door”
situation, where either their
parents go to jail and/or they
go to jail. How do they get
out of the “revolving door”?
By investing in them, poor
communities, provide better
education, allow people freed
from jail to vote! Take the profit
out of the jail system in America.
Reform the police in the states.
Federally fund organizations like
Homeboy Industries, organizations
that are proven to have a high
success rate but are always
hustling to keep their doors
open. In the States, the system
is not designed to help these
people to succeed. The work
done at Homeboys in L.A, gives
what a lot of people would
consider unemployable because
of their tattoos and criminal
Polo De’Marco July 2020