California Dreamers

California, the Golden State, is steeped in cliché like almost nowhere else: palm trees, beach-blonde surfers, aspiring actors and tail-finned cars, all bathed in endless sunshine. Sally Davies, acclaimed New York street photographer and author of New Yorkers, heads west to capture the images and listen to the voices of everyday Californians in their own homes, hoping to delve beneath the ubiquitous stereotypes.

She finds light and space, swimming pools and enticing views of the stunning natural surroundings encroaching through the walls. Posing for her in bedrooms, garages and patios, Davies discovers vibrant multicultural communities, eccentric stories of hopes and dreams, tales of gridlocked traffic, urban sprawl, air pollution and all aspects of the entertainment industry.

Among the voices are well-known figures, Linda Ramone and actor Eric McCormack, accompanied by a cast of models, producers, a high-court judge, artists, stylists, writers, musicians, lawyers, magicians and many more.

California Dreamers: Sally Davies is a street photographer whose works are in the Museum of the City of New York and the NYC 9/11 Memorial Museum. She is the author of the acclaimed McDonald's Happy Meal project (1.5 million online hits) and her archive is part of the Downtown Collection of Fales Library at NYU. She took Allen Ginsberg's old apartment when she moved from Canada to New York in 1983, and she still lives in the East Village with her dog Bun.

79 photographs