USER by Tony Fouhse Finds Compassion for the Fallen

‘User’ is a photography project by Tony Fouhse in which he captures beauty in ugliness as he photographs crack addicts at one street corner in Ottawa, Canada over the period of a few months.

“The casual passerby will see ugliness and conflict and degradation on that corner. But there are other emotions and dynamics to be seen there, too,” explains Fouhse.

“I see a community and fellowship, I see street mothers looking after the young women. I see one kind of pain being replaced with another kind of pain. One that is somehow - we can’t even begin to imagine - more acceptable to the addict. I see creativity, friendship and humanity. I see humans.”

Interestingly, Fouhse explains that the addicts were very tolerant, kind and honest with him.

Not everyone was pleased about this particular work though. “Some say I’m working with the enemy. They say I’m taking something dirty and making it beautiful,” confessed Tony. “They say the addicts on the corner should be swept away. Of course where they go and how they’ll be treated is left unsaid.”