First shown at The Dome Brighton, Founders room as part of the Older Peoples Festival Commissioned by Impact Initiatives in Partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council as part of celebrating The United Nations Older People's Day September 2016 and as part of the Brighton Fringe 2017 and 2018
‘Maria, when I meet someone living on the streets, I see me. It could have been me’. This is what Dave Bolton said when I asked him about his motivation for helping the homeless. That stayed in my mind, so when I went to the Barclays Eagle Lab and saw the 3D cardboard heads, I thought it would be interesting to get cardboard heads made of Dave and Linda. Cardboard can be a big part of a homeless person’s daily existence, often used to write messages on or as temporary shelter, I felt using this medium added an extra dimension of relevance. We had their heads 3D scanned then laser cut, and finally the layers were glued together.
During the process, I went out with Linda and Dave to visit some of the street community and asked them if they’d be wiling to hold Linda’s or Dave’s head in place of their own to symbolize that it could have been Dave or Linda sat there instead. Some of them told me what Dave and Linda’s work meant to them, and others spoke of the harsh reality of living on the streets. Some of the words spoken by the street community have been written inside the heads on the layers of cardboard, which you cannot see but forms a meaningful part of the head. The truth is that homelessness could affect any of us and none of us are as far away as we think we are.
The time with the street community holding the cardboard heads resulted in some powerful images. For this topic, I have chosen a selection of those, as well as images of Dave and Linda at work, with their team. I have also included the wet celebration of their 45th wedding anniversary, which they chose to celebrate with the street community, providing canapés and even a band. It has been a privilege to work on this project with such an inspirational couple. Dave and Linda are two of Brighton and Hove’s many amazing volunteers
Did you know around 30,000 people in Brighton and Hove volunteer? Last year 15% of Brighton and Hove’s residents volunteered compared to a National average of 8% Dave and Linda Bolton started Crossover to help the homeless and vulnerable in Brighton.
To find out more… Crossover Brighton www.crossoverbrighton.org