Kurai Hoshi Gallery 

  Human Street Furniture

  by

  Gerald O'Connell





  
  
  



















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A series of portraits of familiar local characters from the streets of E17. These people form a 

shifting backdrop to the life of Walthamstow, often ignored, but an essential aspect of the 

fabric of the place. The work draws attention to the underlying humanity of these subjects, 

reminding us that they are people with complex, often deeply troubled, personal histories. 



The concept for Human Street Furniture arose early in 2011 when one of the subjects would 

appear regularly in the street outside my home, telling passers-by that he had not eaten for 

several days and asking whether they they could spare any change. Over time I got to know him 

and we struck up a friendly relationship. His appearance was quite striking and he was 

delighted when I asked him if I could draw his portrait. As time went on I became increasingly 

fascinated by his interaction with passers-by: those who ignored him, understandably, tended to 

avoid eye contact; but this also applied to most of those who made a small donation - why 

should that be? After observing this non-interaction for some time I concluded that many people 

were using him as they might a special type of litter bin: as a receptacle for their bad 

conscience; they weren't giving him money, so much as getting rid of a little bit of guilt over 

the chasm of fortune that separated him from them. 


Sensitised to this issue I began to see other instances of the same phenomenon, and I resolved to 

document it in a way that might challenge some preconceptions, principally by treating my subjects 

with the same care, thought and attention to detail that might normally be associated with serious 

portrait commissions - commissions attracting a price tag far beyond the reach of these individuals.














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