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"Now I’ll get known for something other than just begging or being homeless."
An exhibition showcasing photographs from homeless people during lockdown has given them an income boost and provided an “utterly unique” perspective on the pandemic // @PA https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2021/04/28/art-exhibition-showcases-homeless-peoples-photos-throughout-lockdown/
An exhibition showcasing photographs from homeless people during lockdown has given them an income boost and provided an “utterly unique” perspective on the pandemic // @PA https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2021/04/28/art-exhibition-showcases-homeless-peoples-photos-throughout-lockdown/
The project was set up by @danbarker and his wife Lucy Wood, who paid six people £20 for each camera they filled with photographs.
The pictures, taken from largely empty streets across usually bustling London, are now on display outdoors at St Martin-in-the-Fields
The pictures, taken from largely empty streets across usually bustling London, are now on display outdoors at St Martin-in-the-Fields
“The work they’ve produced is utterly unique… people like you and me showing what life has been like, without a home, at a time we were all told to ‘stay at home’,” @danbarker told me
“The income’s a good thing, but it’s not the main thing… now I’ll get known for something other than just begging or being homeless," Joe Pengelly told @PA.
“There’s another side to me, and hopefully people will see that… there’s another side to everyone on the streets.”
“There’s another side to me, and hopefully people will see that… there’s another side to everyone on the streets.”
One of the photographers, named Kelly, died unexpectedly aged 39 during the making of the project - this was her last photograph.
The average age of death for a homeless woman in the UK is 43, and @danbarker said Kelly’s death highlights difficulties exacerbated by the pandemic
The average age of death for a homeless woman in the UK is 43, and @danbarker said Kelly’s death highlights difficulties exacerbated by the pandemic
“People have changed… they seemed to think because I’m homeless and sleeping on the streets that I must have this Covid virus,” another photographer, Darren Fairbrass (pictured with his dog, Indie), said.
"Thankfully there were still a few that treated me as if I was a human."
"Thankfully there were still a few that treated me as if I was a human."
“I’ve lost count how many cameras I have actually filled, I just know it’s a lot and have had fun doing them and made life out here a bit easier,” continued Darren Fairbrass - some of his work is pictured below
Joe Pengelly is most proud of a shot he took of three police officers as they asked him to move along, noting the flash reflecting off their hi-vis jackets.
He said when lockdown began "it was like a nuclear bomb had wiped out all but a tenth of London’s population"
He said when lockdown began "it was like a nuclear bomb had wiped out all but a tenth of London’s population"
The pictures are now being sold as individual prints and have even been compiled into a 65-page book.
All of the profits from both will go to the photographers, with a portion also going to St Martin-in-the-Fields, by Trafalgar Square, to aid its work in helping the homeless
All of the profits from both will go to the photographers, with a portion also going to St Martin-in-the-Fields, by Trafalgar Square, to aid its work in helping the homeless
If you'd like to know more about the project - called Out Of Home - visit https://outofhome.org.uk/
Alternately you can visit the exhibition for free in the Courtyard at St Martin-in-the-Fields, which is outdoors and runs until the end of the summer
Alternately you can visit the exhibition for free in the Courtyard at St Martin-in-the-Fields, which is outdoors and runs until the end of the summer
