Darcy Padilla, winner of the 2010 W. Eugene Smith Foundation Prize, is currently featured in the first issue of “6mois” with over 50 pages devoted to “The Julie Project”.
“Her father, a Mexican, was a social worker, her mother served meals in a hospital. Born 45 years ago in California, Darcy Padilla photographs the homeless, drug addicts, and misfits.
“Court-appointed” alongside the poor, as Emmanuel Carrère once said. After a three-month internship, the New York Times offered to hire her. She refused in order to follow her heart. She covered the life of Julie for 18 years. With Julie now deceased, she continues to document her children’s lives.
Darcy Padilla was surprised by the public’s “enthusiastic and unexpected” reaction when she first received her Eugene Smith prize. She has since begun a new project, about mental illness.
By courtesy of « 6mois »
