Elisabeth Thorsen x Missie
Missie’s story
For decades Missie enjoyed a glamorous acting career, performing in venues like the London Coliseum and living a fast-paced life out in the Netherlands.
But after her mum died, she was evicted from her house and ended up in a cramped, unsafe room. Without warning, she’d lost her job, her parent and her home.
That’s when she rang Shelter’s helpline – we helped her find a comfortable one-bedroom flat and gave her the security she needed to rebuild her life.
We also told Missie about Sing for Shelter – a special event at the London Coliseum where UK choirs were recording a single to raise money and fight homelessness. The performance was hugely cathartic for Missie. She could express herself and turn her experiences into something meaningful, positive and powerful.
Missie has continued to express her creativity with Shelter and has written a wonderful poem for the project called:' ‘Life in My Shoes - ‘A lie of their Own’
Elisabeth Thorsen’s inspiration
I really love Missie's spirit and love and respect her artistic impression.
I found it important to get people to think about how it could be in a homeless person’s shoes, how they look at homeless people and how they would manage being homeless themselves.
These difficulties are represented in the artwork as shoes not being the right size and shoes that can't be worn at all. I had the idea of making shoe lights, candles are part of Missie's home as is music, singing and performance.
The candle shoe is a type of "Sacred performance", where people light a shoe and reflect on homelessness. It also reflects Missie's own positive human aura and glow.
I have always liked the idea of lighting a candle for someone you love or to lament on something important.
Read about the development of the shoe
Visit Shoes Have Names at New Brewery Arts
The exhibition is open from 30th January to 2nd April at New Brewery Arts. It’s free to visit.
Support Shelter charity shops
This exhibition first appeared at a Shelter boutique in London. We wanted to connect shopping, fashion and craft to tell stories of homelessness. Whenever you pre-loved donate clothes, or buy from us you’re helping Shelter fight the housing emergency that is devastating lives.
To donate clothing and items to our charity shops via post, for free, simply download a free postage label. Or you can find your local Shelter charity shop here.
To find out more about Shelter, click on the links below:
Shelter Website: http://england.shelter.org.uk/
Campaigning: http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns
Support us: https://england.shelter.org.uk/GetHelp
Get help: https://england.shelter.org.uk/get_help