While the situation may be bleak, the colors are incredibly vivid in Tent City, a photo series by Mathieu Young documenting the impoverished inhabitants of one of the many makeshift encampments that have cropped up on the outskirts of Fresno, California in recent years. “These people mostly lived in an area locally known as ‘Taco Flats,’ which was closed after a dispute with the land owner, Union Pacific Railroad,” explains Young, who was on assignment for TIME magazine. While the homeless subjects of his portraits vary widely in age and race, the range of expressions found in the photos is even more disparate — from broad smiles to indifference to quiet despair. Click through for a slide show of images.
Photo credit: Mathieu Young. All images via Behance.
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young
Photo credit: Mathieu Young