These
images are part of a documentary series that explores the nature of
the School Crossing Guide in our society. At one end the photographs
unmask the uniformity and formality of the crossing guide, exposing
the familiar human from our street corner. We see that which makes
them more: the lollipop man or woman. Their ordinary uniqueness that
earns the inspiration and friendship of a child. They hold the values
of a supportive, functional community: their role is a tradition of
safety and a linchpin of society. To many children, the
crossing guide is one of their earliest colleagues.
At
the other end this project is a reminder of the strain on the
relationship between guide and child through modernity, technology,
child security fears and the dwindling numbers of full-time guides.
Still, there remains nothing to which we would entrust the
innocence of our children but another human. It is this person who
stands at the crossing of the two views this project explores. This
same person stands at the crossing every day in every condition.
