At the end of the first workshop, each woman had created a black ink print. The women were surprised and rewarded with the outcome of their efforts and commented on how happy they were with the results. We could see it was a real boost to their confidence levels, and there was a palpable sense of joy and pride in their work. The following week, colour and shape were introduced to extend the meaning of their everyday experiences through the visual artwork. The women’s reflections on their lives and on the way gender and homelessness come together are powerfully illustrated in this collection of work, which we hope to share with a broader audience in an exhibition later this year.
‘Psychosis’, Monoprint, 2023 I chose the word psychosis because I became homeless because of my psychosis because I didn’t think I was safe, but actually I didn’t feel safe anywhere, so I left home and roamed the streets, and then I felt even less safe. I was terrified. I was going to all these different services, and no one would help me. All the services – mental health, homelessness, DV, drug, and alcohol, each sent me to the other service, and none would take me on. But I had abject psychosis, and I was really vulnerable, and I was very unsafe. The image is a self-portrait – it’s saying I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what to do. Everything is wrong and I don’t know how to fix it.
‘Safety’, Monoprint, 2023 I now live in a house with other women, and I feel safe there. The green strip at the top represents people being around and the green circle is about having good thoughts about other people. The hand says, ‘Stop violence against women’.
‘Invisible’, Monoprint, 2023 Being homeless made me feel completely invisible.
‘Return home to no home’, Monoprint, 2023
‘Play it Safe’, Monoprint, 2023 S he’s praying for somewhere safe to live. It’s a self-portrait. I was in a housing trust flat, and I went into hospital for six months and a support worker came to see me and suggested I move to Catherine House as a transition to prevent my homelessness. Now I’m in an accommodation place with other women. The red square means me being alert to things that are unsafe. The red represents the safety of the box and also not always fitting into that box. I feel safe where I am and the flowers on my body make me feel peaceful.
‘Addiction’, Monoprint, 2023
‘No Where to Go’, Monoprint, 2023
CATHERINE HOUSE CONNECTIONS NEWSLETTER | 35TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION | PAGE 13
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