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Homeloss

  Homeloss is a set of five unfired paperclay flower sculptures installed at the Stroud Green Road railway bridge (Finsbury Park) in June 2019, paying tribute to the lost of rough sleeper's temporary safe space. Since March 2019, Ruby have witnessed rough sleepers being fenced off and kicked out of their temporary safe space over and over again due to the council's constantly postponing "ongoing improvement works". 

  From cuddling in
 beds to interracting with their pets, the mini sculptures inside the flowers records many beautiful and human moments of rough sleepers living in front of the fences observed by Ruby during her residence in FInsbury Park. As white lilies are commonly used as flower tributes for road incidents in the UK, its symbolism of condolences, empathy and remembrance of loss connects to Ruby's message to the rough sleepers: 'I'm sorry for your loss of this living space". On 16/6/2019, the unfired sculptures and a short artist statement were installed on the fences the same way as the "ongoing improvement works" notices are cable-tied on. The installation gradually brokedown by natural factors (rain and gravity) and vanished within 10 days, leaving the cable tie hoops on the fences which was never taken down. The process echos with the short cycle of a homeless person in public space: exist, collapse, disappear and eventually forgotten.

 Medium: unfired paperclay, cable ties      Size: variable      Date: 3-6/2019

Artist statement displayed with installation:
 
"Due to the still ongoing improvement works since March, It seems more and more difficult for people to live or settle on this street with the fences and uncertain maintenances/cleans once in a few weeks. I believe that these wonderful human beings have their reasons living/had to stay in here(maybe the local connection, incomes or more) and I feel sorry that this ongoing improvement works situation, to an extent, took away the stability of a place people could call home before they receive help. This is my flower tribute recording moments of the beautiful humanity shined front of the fences(look into the pisils) and hoping to express 'I'm sorry for your loss of this living space."

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