THE SPIRIT OF BULLRINGS LIVES ON ...

Waterloo has a significant historical connection to London’s homeless community, one that is currently under threat of being erased. At the heart of this story is Cardboard City, a national touchpoint between the 1980/1990s. It refers to a community of people experiencing homelessness who lived in the underground tunnels between Waterloo Station and the South Bank. It became known as ‘”Cardboard City’” due to the number of shelters (often called bashes) constructed down there. It was inhabited by hundreds of people over the course of around 20 years. Alongside, in the crypt of St John’s Waterloo, was the North Lambeth Day Centre which offered daytime support.

St John’s Waterloo‘s (SJW) bicentennial celebration concluded in late 2024, SJW and The Bridge At Waterloo (TBAW) have embarked on a heritage project which remembered and memorialise Cardboard City and the related ephemeral and neglected heritage of homeless people in the area.

In association with Cardboard City.Org.UK I have particiated by my physical expression performance of the aspiration, in struggle and resolution of the young and homeless in London city. Created and funded by charitable Historic England’s Everyday Heritage grant programme, celebrating working class histories.This piece I’created documents elements of a homeless person’s journey:; community, alcoholism, death and aspiration. The backdrop ( graveyard ) has taken architectural cues specifically associated with social housing from around the country, to create a city that aims to represents all locations and all people. The use of cardboard, a material synonymous with the homeless, allows us to link aspects of the city to the core or the subject matter.

Each of the exhibition pieces (mainly photographs ) have captured the details of elements with individual stories taken from real life accounts.