No One Sees Me Series: Lack of Affordable Housing

acrylic spraypaint on canvas
24" x 48"
2014

$1,000

Academic and public policy center research on causes of homelessness consistently highlights a broad spectrum of causes including structural forces, personal histories, and individuals’ choices.  The homeless population is not homogeneous, nor is the cause of the condition.  All too often, however, many avoid engaging the homeless because of false conclusions that irresponsible individual choices alone are the cause of the condition.  The “No One Sees Me” series seeks to balance that perspective by highlighting structural and personal history causes of homelessness, e.g., lack of affordable housing, ageing out of foster care, and domestic violence.  Individuals are shown progressing through life stages and subjected to a circumstance that results in homelessness.  The compositional approach seeks to connect viewers with the pre-homeless lives of each painting’s subject(s) and encourage self-reflection on similar life experiences.  In so doing, the artwork hopes to increase empathy toward the homeless and weaken barriers to engagement.