Artist who grew up in care and saw his brother die as a child praises Prince of Wales' 'inspirational' initiative to end homelessness as exhibition backed by William and featuring art by former rough sleepers prepares to open READ MORE: William and Kate lead tributes as Team GB add sixth Olympic gong on Medal Monday By Rebecca English, Royal Editor For The Daily Mail and Gina Kalsi Published: 22:04, 6 August 2024 | Updated: 22:18, 6 August 2024 e-mail View comments An acclaimed artist who grew up in care - and was just five when he saw his younger brother tragically die in front of him - has praised Prince William 's 'inspirational' initiative to end homelessness . Robi Walters, from Camden, North London, is one of the stars of Homelessness: Reframed, a new exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London which opens tomorrow. It features works by world famous photographer Rankin alongside pieces created by those with real experience of rough sleeping, sofa surfing or living in cars, hostels and other temporary accommodation.
Around 300,000 people, nearly half of whom are children, live without a permanent roof over their heads at any one time in UK. So a year ago the Prince of Wales launched his 'Homewards' project to end homelessness in six key locations around the UK, bringing together charities, local authorities, private landlords and businesses for the first time in a targeted collaboration. Robi Walters, from Camden, North London, is one of the stars of Homelessness: Reframed, a new exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London which opens tomorrow The future king, who will see the exhibition for himself in the next few weeks, also wanted to find a way to 'change the narrative' and 'challenge negative perceptions and stereotypes around homelessness'.
'It's one of his key ambitions in launching the programme,' a spokesman said. 'If we are going to be able successfully tackle the issue we need to redress how society views and understands it. 'The idea of hosting an exhibition on the topic of homelessness came about through a conversation between the Prince and the Homewards team before the project launch.
'Alongside developing and delivering tangible solutions...
the prince also wanted to generate new imagery around the topic of homelessness. Far too often the images we see are of people rough sleeping, this is just one of the many different types of homelessness people experience.' Mr Walters, 50, experienced a hugely traumatic life growing up in and out of the care system.
His mother, who had him at the age of just 16, was herself homeless at the time. 'My mum was very young, she was traumatised, she was in a half-way house for young women that were in trouble. She really didn't have the means or the capability of looking after me,' he said at today's launch.
She went on to have another son, two years younger than him, and the pair of them were in and out of children's homes throughout their earliest years. Prince William delivered a speech during a visit to Lambeth to mark the first year of the homelessness initiative Homewards in London last month The Prince of Wales shows plans for the Duchy of Cornwall's first ever innovative housing project to help address homelessness in May 'That wasn't a good experience for me. The last one I was about four and I used to sit by the door in the room at night, looking outside to make sure the person who was on watch was still there, just to make sure we were safe.
'That's how I used to go to sleep at night without any adults I knew and without any support or care from someone I thought was safe ,' he said. Recalling in harrowing detail the night his younger brother died, Mr Walters fought back tears and he said: 'My brother and I were left in a house by ourselves when I was five and he was three. 'That night I went downstairs and found a box of matches on the arm of the sofa.
I was flicking these matches into a straw bin and the bin caught on fire. 'We ran into the kitchen we filled up some saucepans desperate to put out this fire. And then we ran to the front door because it got out of control and the front door was locked.
'We ran upstairs into the first bedroom and I was trying to get my brother out of the window but it was a really high window for us and I couldn't get him out. He said he was getting a ladder. I was screaming out of the window.
'A car pulled up and a lady ran into the house. A man started shouting jump. I was screaming 'my brother my brother'.
And then I just jumped out of the window.' Shaking as he revisits the memory, the artist says that after he jumped he saw someone carry his little brother out through the front door into an ambulance, which then took them to hospital. 'A lady inside the hospital said to me "how did the fire start?" I was leaning over my brother and I just said "save my brother, save my brother".
And he was dead,' he says. Robi was one of the artists that had a black and white photograph taken by famous photographer Rankin Robi's artwork features two large circles - one small yellow one and the other a giant fiery red - made out of recycled objects 'For almost the rest of my life I carried the guilt of thinking it was my fault. I was responsible for my brother, I used to walk him to school.
I was like an adult but I didn't know that. I felt like I had killed my own brother. ' After two nights in hospital he was taken home by his grandparents.
His mother, he later discovered, had been sent to prison for threatening the person who had meant to be looking after her children on that fateful night. His elderly Jamaican grandparents, who both worked, were unable to look after him permanently and had no choice but to send him back into care. Read More Kate Middleton WILL join Prince William and their three children for summer getaway at Balmoral He was fostered by a 'really lovely' family but never felt settled as he had come from a racially diverse background and found himself living with two white parents in a middle class neighbourhood.
'My life was very difficult. I haven't lived on the streets but had the experience of being separated from every single thing you know and love. Your toys, your parents, your clothes, schools and friends,' he says.
At the age of eight Mr Walters had to go to court and forced by a judge to choose who he wanted to live with. He was advised to pick his foster parents, even though he wanted to return to live with his mother, because his life would be 'more stable'. 'Standing in front of that judge was the worst thing that happened me.
My mum went completely ballistic. She wanted me back and called me every name under the sun and we didn't speak for a long time. I was riddled with guilt,' he said.
Fortunately the two have since reconnected and he now has a wonderful relationship with both his birth mother and his foster parents, as well as having a family of his own. His artwork features two large circles - one small yellow one and the other a giant fiery red - made out of recycled objects. They depict the life you live now, as well as the life you want.
Some of the artwork read 'I'm just hungry' and 'This is awkward for me too' in the gallery Some of the art featured doors turned into art by young people during workshops led by local artists who have been homeless The collection featured signs of mainly hand-drawn signs sometimes seen next to a person sleeping rough 'The work is made from things that people discard and throw away. I take things people discard and make them look beautiful so they want them back. It is a reflection of my life,' Mr Walters explains.
'You can have loneliness in a loving family, a crowded room and in a busy city. What I want to ask is whether you can you see that your future is brighter than your present moment. ' He used discarded birthday cards and other ephemera for his piece named 'Are all journeys undertaken alone?' He said the circles represented now and the future: 'Are you able to see your future is brighter then the present moment?' or: Do 'you see your future as restricted and contracted?' Robi described Prince William's initiative to end homelessness as 'inspirational'.
'Coming from him, it means a lot,' he said. Lorna Tucker, a film maker who experienced a traumatic childhood and rough sleeping, also talked at the launch of her experience living on the streets as a teenager, as well as her previous heroin addiction and 15 years of living in temporary accommodation with her child as an addict. Award-winning social justice artist David Tovey created Home 2013, a shed-like structure made from scraps of metal and panels from a Peugeot 206, the model of car the artist lived in for six months Artwork by Phillip Colbert, which is set to feature in the new Saatchi exhibition 'I lost everything and people had kind of given up on me,' she said.
'I finally got the right help and the right support to deal with those issues. 'I always say living on the streets was the most horrific, traumatic thing that happened to me. But then to try and get clean and be put in a hostel in the middle of nowhere with no wrap-around care created really bad mental health problems.
'There were a lot of ups and downs but then I realised I could start to use my voice. I lost a lot of friends on the way who lost their lives. I want everyone to have hope that they can turn their lives around.
' She also praised William's Homewards initiative for its willingness to listen to the real life experience of those who have been homeless and the way the exhibition shows the positive stories of those who have come out the other side. The attraction has three parts: a collection of mainly hand-drawn signs sometimes seen next to a person sleeping rough, artwork commissions, and doors turned into art by young people, from the six areas where Homewards is working, during workshops led by local artists who have been homeless. One sign read: 'The smallest thing means the world to someone who has nothing.
Please help if you can. Thank You Good Bless,' while another read: 'Fishing 4 some change please bite, thanks'. Award-winning social justice artist David Tovey created Home 2013, a shed-like structure made from scraps of metal and panels from a Peugeot 206, the model of car the artist lived in for six months.
Mr Tovey said about his work: 'The car sculpture includes personal elements like folded clothing and bedding, which were part of my daily life. 'The car provided safety and security when I was ill and living on the streets. The sculpture is painted in a significant burgundy red colour, similar to a paratrooper's beret, reflecting my military background.
' Homelessness: Reframed runs at the Saatchi Gallery in London until September 20th and is free to view. Royals Prince William Share or comment on this article: Artist who grew up in care and saw his brother die as a child praises Prince of Wales' 'inspirational' initiative to end homelessness as exhibition backed by William and featuring art by former rough sleepers prepares to open e-mail Add comment.
