On Christmas Day 2013, 2014 and Boxing Day 2015, I made portraits of willing sitters; guests at the South Side Community Centre, in return for the drawing itself. Crisis for Christmas is brilliant for people at a very tricky and otherwise cold time of year. Thanks to Crisis, people are able to spend their Christmas in good company, get a proper Christmas dinner, a haircut, a pedicure and play or listen to music. I wrote a little about my encounters but the A3 ink drawings represent the time spent with more immediacy. These were some of my favourite drawings and experiences but I cannot show them here, as people's right to anonymity is much more important.
“[He] was a charming and gentle soul. He’d worn his clothes for a long time. I saw he’d had his hair cut. Yes he’d had a good meal and a haircut. They’d given him a nice sharp army cut. His eyes looked terribly sore. I asked him a few times if they were, but he said no, they weren’t sore... He was excellent at being still.”