Once unhoused, David Tovey turned his life around. Now a well-known artist, his work draws attention to rising homelessness in Britain.
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00:00David Tovey experienced homelessness in England for a year and a half.
00:06He lived on the street and slept in a car.
00:09An experience that shaped this sculpture.
00:15Now a well-known artist, he's using his work to draw attention to the issue of homelessness in Britain.
00:22In the summer of 2024, his sculpture was exhibited at London's renowned Saatchi Gallery.
00:28Among the visitors was Prince William.
00:32Hello, come in guys, come in.
00:35I'm David Tovey, I'm an artist, activist and educator.
00:40Predominantly working in homelessness, addiction, mental health.
00:45And yeah, welcome to my home studio.
00:49For the past few years, David has lived in a council flat in Somers Town, a neighbourhood in north-west London.
00:59His three-room apartment is now filled with his artwork.
01:06One piece that immediately stands out is an unconventional self-portrait.
01:12I was always very focused on, you know, one, becoming a success.
01:17Becoming, you know, having money in the bank, my own house, you know, and I had a huge stroke at work.
01:25That my whole life just got flipped, like overnight just got flipped where I lost everything.
01:30Yeah, and it all comes from this really, that car crash moment in life.
01:35So when people go, it doesn't look like a self-portrait, I'm like, trust me, that is probably the most accurate self-portrait I've ever done.
01:45According to an aid organisation, by 2024 the number of people experiencing homelessness in London reached record levels to nearly 12,000.
01:54A human tragedy.
01:57David runs workshops for children at St John's Primary School in Bethnal Green.
02:03In the schoolyard, he created a sculpture titled Home 2013, using parts from the compact car he lived in for a time, now shaped into a house.
02:16I was struggling to find a space to build the sculpture for the Saatchi Gallery and Prince William's show.
02:22And I asked Aaron, I was like, do you know anywhere in the area, I'm trying to find somewhere to rent and I said it needs to be cheap because I've got no money.
02:30And then yeah, suggested coming and using this space and I couldn't think of somewhere better really, because one, it gave me a whole playground.
02:42The young students followed the sculpture's creation closely, step by step.
02:47They get to be inspired by an artist. The children would watch by the windows so they'd see David working on his art.
02:56That's inspirational in itself. For them to see the final piece of work, the size of it, and then for it to be taken away and then be put in a prestigious gallery such as the Saatchi Gallery, well that's amazing.
03:11By summer 2024, David Tovey's work was part of Homelessness Reframed, a major exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London.
03:21The visitors included the young students from St John's.
03:27And Prince William, who is addressing the issue of homelessness in Britain through his foundation.
03:33David Tovey continues to engage with the issue through his work.
03:40He's currently developing a new installation, a house made of fabric scraps and rags painted by school children.
03:52I threw a question, a provocation to them saying, your best friend's becoming homeless and they're coming to live with you.
04:00What do you think would make their first night stay with you just a little bit nicer for them and get them to paint what they'd need?
04:08So it was right from TVs, somebody said a hug, family, but the best thing, a glass of water.
04:16You know, we forget those basic things in life that when you're homeless, you don't have access to.
04:22So for me, when she said, this little girl, she's only about this big, said about this glass of water she painted, I nearly cried. I felt so emotional.
04:31Homelessness remains a deeply personal and painful topic for David Tovey, a social problem he continues to confront through his art.