Grey Areas: Jessie Edwards-Thomas

1 June 2021 – 1 September 2021 | Tue-Sat 11.00-18.00 | Sun 11.00-17.00

Arnolfini | 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA

Jessie Edwards-Thomas has co-designed and co-produced ‘Grey Areas’, a photographic dialogue with five individuals who are currently within or have experienced the ‘homelessness pathway’ with complex needs in Bristol.

Grey Areas © Jessie Edwards-Thomas

The work was created during the winter of 2020/21, the year of the pandemic; when our basic needs for shelter and safety were highlighted across the nation. Our concerns were rooted in the question ‘what does Home mean to our sense of Wellbeing?’ What is continuing to happen to our city spaces which is pushing people further and further away, physically, mentally and socially? Hidden individuals sit in corners, on the edge of boundaries, lingering in doorways, creating a land of limbo mirroring the experiences individuals undergo everyday in the homeless pathway. How are individuals expected to navigate this homeless pathway? Grey Areas reflects the impact our physical spaces have upon our mental spaces. This work does not provide answers, but asks you, the viewer, to question the broken perceptions we may hold.

This original body of work has been produced during Blueprint: Housing & Wellbeing, an artistic commission by Arnolfini and Bristol Photo Festival in collaboration with Golden Key Partnership supported by ArtFund and the Arts Council England.

Grey Areas © Jessie Edwards-Thomas