A special photographic exhibition highlighting the plight of our city’s homelessness will open in the Valley on Friday week May 7. Governor Penelope Wensley will open the exhibition, Detours -- stories from the street, which will be on display at the TCB building, Chinatown, from 7am to 7pm until May 15.
The exhibition features photographs of clients of the 139 Club homeless shelter in the Valley. Local councillor David Hinchliffe is one of two photographers who have turned their camera lens to the cause of homelessness. “These pictures and the stories that go with each reveal the stories behind the faces of homelessness,” he says. One of his subjects was Lynette Vardy, above, who laughs in the face of adversity. She says despite difficult times, she relies on the friends she has met at the 139 Club to get by including her Friday girls’ coffee group. While Cr Hinchliffe supplied this shot in colour, the exhibition of 20 photos will be in stark black and white, as with the wonderful portraits below.
Top: Brigid Haug began her working life as a nurse in Rockhampton before illness changed the course of her life.
Middle: Mary Cumming, 46, says she's reluctant to smile because of dental problems. The 139 Club has given her something to smile about.
Above: Clinton Ross was on the streets for more years than he can remember. He says that despite his years on the street he never gave up hope.
