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Steps: Paul Jarvis' photography is now part of his life |
Artists reveal wealth gap
Seven special exhibitors feature in Get Sorted photographic show
EXPLICIT photographs taken by recovering drug addicts and offenders are on display in a Victoria gallery.
The exhibition – using work from seven offenders – reveals the divide between rich and poor.
It offers viewers a window into the desperate world of addiction.
For the artists – who have been through the “treadmill” of homelessness, addiction, crime and prison – the project has been a lifeline.
Paul Jarvis, 40, is one of seven artists taking part in the Get Sorted exhibition in Cardinal Walk.
He said: “I left home at 14 because I didn’t like my stepfather. I started squatting around the West End. I have been in and out of prison – always for crime to fund my crack and heroin addiction.”
But after 26 years of drugs and crime Mr Jarvis, who wanted to keep his London address secret for fear of some “pretty heavy fellas” catching up with him, has turned his life around after a pioneering photography project in a West End drug clinic.
He said: “Photography has become a part of my life now. I’m still finding ways to combat my addiction, but through the photography group at the Hungerford Project I’ve got something positive in my life, something that gives me a feeling of self-worth. I took photos of my old shelter in Marylebone – and the more colourful things in the area.”
Westminster council has been criticised for not offering enough outreach services for drug addicts.
He said: “You’ve got to engage in Westminster, and that’s no criticism of the council. I had been to projects before but if you don’t engage there’s nothing they can do for you.”
Mr Jarvis, who grew up in Maida Vale, admitted to the “odd lapse” in his battle to beat drugs but said he was “thinking differently and looking at everything through the eyes of a photographer.”
He said there was talk of a book about his groups’ struggles out next year and a further exhibition in north Westminster next year.
The exhibition follows sterling work from the council’s drug intervention project.
The service forces all drug-addict criminals arrested for theft, burglary and robbery into rehabilitation.
The West End Extra reported in May how the rehabilitation service had been crippled following cuts made by the Home Office. |
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