David Conrad, Shelter
Mixed-media installation, Dimensions variable, 2020
This installation addresses the tension of adapted temporary shelters and marginalized struggle by exploring an exodus from a negative, violent situation to a place of hope and growth. As the vulnerability of those experiencing homelessness intensifies during the pandemic, so does a greater divide in housing insecurity, the availability of proper mental health services, and financial resources. Personal experience with estrangement, homelessness, and homeless encampments lead this intuitively improvised practice to show contingent markers of raw urgency and mistakes. Further, the instability of the work shows the limited support structures available to the lesser advantaged.