Going gold for homelessness
Lutheran Care has collaborated with Adelaide surrealist artist Andrew Baines and several high-profile South Australians for a new living art installation unveiled in Rundle Mall in January.
As part of the striking and thought-provoking installation titled Behind the Guise of Homelessness, prominent South Australians from sport, government, business and community were painted entirely in gold and positioned in Rundle Mall to represent a portrait of just some of the many faces of homelessness.
The installation featured Erin Phillips (Port Adelaide AFLW captain, former Opals/WNBA basketball player and media personality), Mark Soderstrom (media personality, sports presenter and former SANFL footballer), Nat Cook (SA Minister for Human Services and anti-violence advocate), Uncle Mickey O’Brien (Kaurna and Narrunga leader), Bruce Djite (Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia’s SA Division, former CEO of the Committee of Adelaide, former Socceroo and TV soccer analyst), Heather Croall (Adelaide Fringe CEO) and Andrew Kay (Business SA CEO).
Artist Andrew Baines is known for his surrealist paintings featuring bowler-hatted figures, sausage dogs and cows, and live installations which have included hundreds of suited volunteers – among them some of the country’s top politicians – on beaches for photo shoots.
Behind the Guise of Homelessness aimed to raise the public consciousness of the emergency state of homelessness, challenge attitudes and stereotypes surrounding the growing issue and remind viewers there are complex reasons for homelessness and that it can, and does, happen to anyone.
Juxtaposed with the installation was an audio track including emotive music overlaid with some of the voices of people who have experienced homelessness or housing insecurity. Some digital ‘lived experience’ stories were also collected and shared as part of the project.
Andrew has been working on his idea for years, and approached Lutheran Care in 2022 to help him drive it. He is passionate about shining a light on homelessness and he knows how fast fortunes can change as he was close to losing everything in the Global Financial Crisis.
Lutheran Care’s Chief Executive Officer, Rohan Feegrade says Lutheran Care was excited to be part of the installation.
‘We hope to make it impossible for people to walk past the issue,’ he says. ‘We also want to break down stereotypes about homelessness. It can and does happen to anyone. The reasons people experience homelessness are many and varied and everyone’s experience is different.
‘With rising living costs and energy prices, a pressurised housing market and predicted economic headwinds, more and more people and families across the nation are living with housing insecurity and we expect to see the number of people experiencing homelessness to continue rising.
‘Homelessness is solvable. We need a whole of community approach including government and corporate Australia, more focus on early intervention, and more affordable housing.’
To read more about Behind the Guise of Homelessness visit www.lutherancare.org.au/behind-the-guise/
Photo: Mark Soderstrom and Erin Phillips.
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