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Street Art: Ex-homeless Michael’s technicolour dreamstates are surreal

The Big Issue’s Street Art page gives talented, marginalised individuals an outlet for creative expression

‘PRESS GANGED’

By Michael Crosswaite

“I like how this picture unfolded slowly,” explains frequent Street Art contributor Michael. “I painted the beach scene, the sky, the water, the sand. Then I popped in the boat, but it needed something else. A couple of deckchairs looked real groovy.”

Once homeless in London and struggling with a drug habit, Michael now lives in his own flat and paints as often as he can. His debut exhibition Technicolour Dreamstate at the Outpost Gallery in Islington has just been extended until the end of February; peterbedford.org.uk/outpost

Support our street artists over at The Big Issue Shop.

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When most people think about the Big Issue, they think of vendors selling the Big Issue magazines on the streets – and we are immensely proud of this. In 2022 alone, we worked with 10% more vendors and these vendors earned £3.76 million in collective income. There is much more to the work we do at the Big Issue Group, our mission is to create innovative solutions through enterprise to unlock opportunity for the 14million people in the UK living in poverty.

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