I Was Here
Luke Embden, Various locations
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5 STARS? No stars? Under the stars, more like.

THE new Prime Minister’s first spoken pledge as he crossed the threshold of 10 Downing Street was to end rough sleeping. Good. We can all have a rough night in our comfy sheeted beds, ’pon our mattresses in a room, but rarely on a pavement, or in a park, which according to the last count, 4,793 did, regularly, in Britain. A record high.

Murals, like rough sleepers are exposed to the elements. But unlike rough sleepers, they are easier to look at. I don’t mean aesthetically, but emotionally. Like much politically engaged art that is good, and not didactic, it makes space in the psyche to contemplate change, rather than to shut down.

And that’s what Luke Embden’s murals do. He says: “A lot of people don’t know where to turn and this is a really beautiful way to get the message out there.”

I Was Here, commissioned from Luke Embden, aims to push back on stereotypes and misconceptions about rough sleepers, focusing on their personalities and journeys, instead of their difficulties. And, of course, individualising a life can speak for all with that life. This is something that advertising knows very well. But art knows it better.

The work resembles that of New York artist Keith Haring (1958-1990) with a similar visual language.

The mural pictured is dedicated to Lee, installed in Bethnal Green Road, east London, with all the particularities of his life. A shamrock, a guitar, a pen, a letter speak for a man who now volunteers for St Mungo’s and leads a creative writing course. It removes the anonymity of the rough sleeper, to emphasise that this is a person, with gifts and a history.

Others are for Tamika, Ray and Lawrette in Reading and Bristol, all former rough sleepers. Note that comforting word former, as St Mungo’s supported them out of homelessness.

The homelessness charity St Mungo’s has said that 77 percent of the people it helped off the streets last year were not seen to have returned to rough sleeping, and this brilliant street mural project emphasises that.

I got two vox pops at Bethnal Green.

“The artist has done an amazing job drawing attention to homelessness. I like abstract art – I saw the artist doing it.” Chris from the Barber’s shop on the corner.

Then, in passing, Lauren: “It reminds me of Orthodox churches. It’s Byzantine – it’s tattooing the walls. I like that it’s been commissioned by St Mungo’s. I worked with them once – producing short films.”

Emma Haddad, the chief executive of St Mungo’s, says that she wants the murals to encourage people not to ignore homelessness: “They’re asking people to stop and look and listen,” she says. “Recovery is possible, hope is possible, and support plays a fundamental role in that.”

So, this is arresting art.

Haddad also argues that raising awareness through campaigns such as this is especially important in the summer, when the UK’s increasingly frequent heatwaves exacerbate the “life-threatening” dangers of living on the streets. Indeed – as I walked through the air fryer that was Bethnal Green Roads – I empathised. But what does that mean? I was heading for home afterwards.

According to the new government, an additional £340m will be put towards the new policy of ending rough sleeping. The timing of the announcement was brilliant for St Mungo’s, who launched the installations the next morning.

Each integrates a QR code that allows passersby to listen to the narrated stories of those featured. The work is down now, but on record, as art on the streets – doing its thing.

The murals are located in London at 220 Bethnal Green Road, E2 0AA 0AG; in Bristol at 123 Stokes Croft, Bristol BS1 3RZ; and in Reading at King St, Reading RG1 2HE