Works from artists who have experienced homelessness spotlighted in new exhibition

'Hear No Evil, See No Evil' by Brett Zu, bottom, is one of 30 pieces on display as part of the From the Streets of Our Unfair City: Artists Who Have Experienced Homelessness exhibition. (Courtesy: Outsiders and Others)

An art exhibition that aims to abolish misconceptions around what it means to be homeless, while promoting the work of local, often overlooked, artists, has just launched at a downtown Vancouver art space.

Led by non-profit art society Outsiders and Others, From the Streets of Our Unfair City: Artists Who Have Experienced Homelessness will showcase the works of artists An Dong, Randy Pandora, and Brett Zu at a gallery on Howe Street until late January.

At one point or another, all three have had to contend with the experience of sleeping on Vancouver’s streets.

Curator Yuri Arajs says the exhibition spotlights work from those who have experienced homelessness, as opposed to artists who are currently homeless, because it helps to push the concept that the experience of being unhoused shouldn’t become the artist’s entire identity, especially to gallery visitors.

“The reason we make that distinction is because homelessness is something that happens to people, it is not who they are,” he said.

“When you put out there that you're doing a show of artists who have experienced homelessness, immediately people have a vision in their heads or an idea of what or who that might entail. Our goal is to remove that, and to show you how opposite these artists are to the way that you think they are.”

Identity is a recurring motif among the 30 pieces that are on display, with many of them depicting self portraits or images that reflect each artist’s plethora of rich life experiences – life moments that go beyond their periods of being unhoused.

For artist Brett Zu, the opportunity to become a full-time artist only arose in 2021, after three decades of being a “working family man.” He says his recent experience of homelessness “totally helped evolve” the way he approaches making art.

“Everything that I make is 95 per cent found stuff,” he said.

“Most of what I create is from recycled materials, and that’s not necessarily from a lack of materials, it’s more so that these fun things have texture,” he said, describing how his primary media in recent years have been charcoal and found or gifted paints, alongside broken-down pallets.

His large-scale piece, "See No Evil, Speak No Evil," sees portraits etched onto a sizable piece of found wood.

Both the artist and curator hope Zu’s approach to creation addresses misconceptions within the industry itself, primarily that art is one for only the wealthy or privileged.

“These are artists who don't have homes, who have limited funds, and are able to make pieces worthy of being hung in our space, so it just shows that anything can be used to make art,” he said.

“A lot of people say, ‘I can't do this. I don't have money for this,’ but it’s more possible than people think. I would say 90 per cent of the artists we work with are self-taught, and many of them have never shown their work before,” he said.

The title, "Hear No Evil, See No Evil" is in reference to the thousands that turn a blind eye to Vancouver’s ever-growing homelessness problem each day, Zu explained. By being involved with this exhibition, he said he hopes he can raise awareness of the plight of the others who continue to live as he once did.

“We’ve lost a little bit of understanding; things have become the norm for so many people,” he said.

“A lot of the people taking part in the exhibit now have homes, we’re not all homeless anymore. Thank goodness. But there are still hundreds and hundreds of others who are homeless, and it is something that can affect anybody. It really can.”

All featured art will be available for purchase, with 75 per cent of any works sold to be given to the artist. The exhibition, housed at 938 Howe St., is entry by donation and runs until Jan. 25.