Powerful exhibition draws light to the challenges faced by homeless people in the UK

Anthony capturing photos of Fred, one of the people experiencing homelessness in the UK
Anthony capturing photos of Fred, one of the people experiencing homelessness in the UK (Picture: Anthony Luvera)

At the start of 2020, at least one out of every 200 people in the UK is living without permanent or safe accommodation.

Homelessness is on the rise. It’s a crisis.

And yet according to research conducted over the past five years, 91% of local authorities can’t answer ‘basic questions’ about homelessness in our community.

That’s what a new exhibition in London explores.

Anthony Luvera: Taking Place is an exhibition curated by Futurecity that showcases the challenges facing those experiencing homelessness, displaying works from Assembly and Frequently Asked Questions.

Frequently Asked Questions is a wall installation drawn from research that asked local authorities simple questions on homelessness, such as ‘where can I find shelter when it’s raining or snowing?’ and ‘where can I sleep during the night that is safe?’. The majority of those asked didn’t know answers to questions such as these, and 41 of the 110 councils contacted just didn’t reply.

Shown alongside these questions is Assembly, a photo series created by Anthony Luvera.

Momodou Njie
An assisted self-portrait of Momodou Njie (Picture: Anthony Luvera)

To produce the photos, Anthony invited homeless people to co-create their self-portraits, allowing them to help with the editing and framing process and recording their stories to be played in the exhibition.

‘In all of my work, I’m interested in shaking up preconceptions and drawing attention to structural issues that perpetuate homelessness,’ Anthony tells Metro.co.uk.

‘To create this work, I spent a year working in the First Base Day Centre – a support service for people experiencing homelessness in Brighton – doing all kinds of things like working in the kitchen, helping out at the reception, and serving tea and coffee. This was an important way for me to get to know the staff of the centre and the people associated with their services.

‘After this time, I set up weekly workshops for participants to take away cameras and digital sound recorders to capture their experiences and the things they were interested in. I also invited participants to work with me to create an Assisted Self-Portrait.

Anthony feels it's important to let homeless people such as Odette (pictured) have a voice in how they are depicted.
Anthony feels it’s important to let homeless people such as Odette (pictured) have a voice in how they are depicted (Picture: Anthony Luvera)

‘To make an Assisted Self-Portrait, I teach the participants how to use professional camera equipment tethered to a laptop, over repeated sessions, to enable them to take control of the way they are represented.

‘Pretty much since the invention of photography, people experiencing homelessness have been subject to photographic practices that depict them in ways as passive or pitiful and that to be homeless is somehow their fault.

‘In the process of creating my work I’m attempting to buck this trend by asking the participants to take an active role in how they are represented and to speak out about the things they are interested in and the systems and services that shape their lives.’

Anthony hopes that his work will draw attention to the true state of homelessness in the UK and will encourage people to make a change.

homelessness photo series
Each subject was involved in the creation of their portrait (Picture: Anthony Luvera)
anthony luvera creating assisted portraits of homeless people
‘People experiencing homelessness have been subject to photographic practices that depict them in ways as passive or pitiful and that to be homeless is somehow their fault,’ says Anthony (Picture: Anthony Luvera)

But he also wants to make sure that people experiencing homelessness have their own voice – hence their involvement in the creation of the photos.

‘Having worked with people experiencing homelessness for over fifteen years, my own preconceptions have been challenged many times over,’ says Anthony.

‘But one of the main things that has most surprised me over this time was that while the homelessness crisis has risen to epidemic levels, a simple request by a man experiencing homelessness to local authorities across the country for information about his right to access health and wellbeing services shows that 91% of councils can’t or won’t respond appropriately.

‘The systems set up to enhance health and wellbeing of the most marginalised and vulnerable individuals in our society are broken.’

Assembly and Frequently Asked Questions will be featured in an exhibition at The Gallery at Foyles in London from now until 29 February 2019. The gallery is open 9.30am-9pm on Mondays, 9am-9pm Tuesday to Saturday, and 11.30am-6pm on Sunday. 

homelessness exhbition: gerald mclaverty
Gerald McLaverty, who asked local councils basic questions about his own experience of being without a home and found that 91% couldn’t answer (Picture: Anthony Luvera)
Fred Clarke
Fred Clarke (Picture: Anthony Luvera)
anthony luvera's portrait of ady baldwin
Ady Baldwin (Picture: Anthony Luvera)
kristel aasjoe
Kristel Aasjoe (Picture: Anthony Luvera)
ben evans
Ben Evans (Picture: Anthony Luvera)
anthony luvera's assembly portrait of robert truelove
Robert Truelove (Picture: Anthony Luvera)
anthony luvera homelessness portraits: yolanda bath
Yolanda Bath (Picture: Anthony Luvera)
anthony luvera portraits of homeless people: mark tomlinson
Mark Tomlinson (Picture: Anthony Luvera)

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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/18/powerful-exhibition-draws-light-challenges-faced-homeless-people-uk-12080368/
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