Telling My Story…at the edge of recovery

Exhibition Description

I first met with Drs. David Moxley and Olivia Washington to discuss the possibility of joining the Telling My Story team in the Spring of 2004. But it would be yet another year before the actual work of preparing the portraits would start. Even as I began, I was still unsure of what to expect. My assigned task was to create narrative portraits of eight African American women 50 years of age and older who were in various stages of recovery from homelessness. Far from being literal portraits with formal poses, my objective was to create what was in essence a conceptual narrative portrait made up of a variety of elements, composed in such a way as to create some kind of emotional and informed response. The artwork that filled the exhibition spaces was the result of collaborations between this artist and the women whose lives were described in each piece…

As for these eight ladies, along with the research team from Wayne State, ultimately, I am left in awe…of the journeys they’ve made, and the vision they and the researchers possess. We are each only a thin line from facing the prospect of homelessness. And we each have to ask ourselves… do we have the strength within us to survive? Would we have the strength to recover? Do we possess the creative vision to offer so much more than simply the kindness of strangers. And, as a community, will we ever recognize that this is not just kindness we need to share. It is, ultimately, our humanity.

~ Mara Jevera Fulmer, Artist/Curator
June, 2006

Telling My Story…at the edge of recovery

8 Narrative Portraits by Mara Jevera Fulmer, 2006

September 2005 • Digital Giclee´ Print • 28”h x 112”w “I was a homeless person for two and a half years. It was a hard task for me, and I faced very hard times…These women formed a very supportive group for me. I thank them very much. Please ladies out there, if you ever become homeless, find a support group quick…” ~ Rita ——————– The act of creating order in my own life contrasted with Rita’s stories of a world where order was found on a bus depot bench, or in repetitive tasks preparing items for shipping at the “freak shop” novelty sex toys factory, employment she undertook while living in the bus shelter. ~ Mara Jevera Fulmer

November 2005 • Digital Giclee´ Print • 28”h x 112”w “At 58 I became homeless when my home caught on fire. I didn’t have insurance and a broken ankle prevented me from working. Loosing everything that I had, in 2002, I was placed at a shelter that treated me as if I had committed a crime for which I needed to serve time. At first I felt hopeless, but I kept hearing my grandmother’s words, ‘Never give up.’” ~ Iona ————————- Though she has faced her share of difficulties, Iona seems to have a clearer view of her future, or at least one that does not seem to dwell too long on pain or fear from her past. … She seemed to know that, while sometimes tragic, life’s ironies were boundless, and her good humor and wit would help see her through the darkness towards a brighter future. ~ Mara Jevera Fulmer

October 2005 • Digital Giclee´ Print • 28”h x 112”w “…In 1998, I lost my husband to a hit-and-run driver…I became homeless because I was unable to pay the $100 monthly rent increase for the house that we lived in. Now for the past two years, I have been in my own apartment and I am determined to never be homeless again…” ~ Elaine ———————— Elaine’s stories were often peppered with “I can’t talk about that, it’s too painful” or “I can’t remember because it’s too painful.” What was apparent, however, was a strength of spirit. …there emerged a strong relationship between place and identity, and a visual modularization of her world, from the treasured gift bags, to the oddly arranged mirrored tiles on the wall opposite the windows. ~ Mara Jevera Fulmer

November 2005 • Digital Giclee´ Print • 28”h x 112”w “An incident occurred that involved my grandchildren and included my daughter making the statement ‘this is my house, if you don’t like what’s going on, you can leave.’…Dealing with homelessness and multiple health problems was a hard struggle. If not for the Grace of God and Dr. Olivia Washington, I would not be here.” ~ Dorothy ———————— [It] began with a raw breaking apart… gradually transition through an exchange from the rawness …the ragged edges of Dorothy’s earlier life…through a mirror framed in butterflies … a symbol of her attempted metamorphosis, until the artwork changed to the soft and fuzzy roundness of the piles of Tweety Birds on the bed, which wrapped us protectively. ~ Mara Jevera Fulmer

January 2006 • Digital Giclee´ Print • 28”h x 112”w “…we literally went “from house to house” staying with friends….My darkest moments were when I became homeless again. My brightest hope is that with all of my supports in place, maybe, just maybe, I will have a chance to do it over and get it right this time.” ~ Gilda ———————— Gilda spent her days “phantom shopping” … while her daughter was at school. She did not want to go back to the shelter… Then, after her cart was full, she would repeat the process in reverse, slowly putting the items back on the shelf… This shopping cart is more dreamlike. What would I buy if money were no object? at the Farmer Jack? ~ Mara Jevera Fulmer

January 2006 • Digital Giclee´ Print • 28”h x 112”w “…The desperation of being homeless escalated into other self-defeating behaviors. Just imagine being stranded on a deserted island with no way out, or surviving an airplane crash only to find yourself alone and lost. Even these scenarios are less frightening than being homeless. I felt nameless, faceless, a liability to society, and cast aside to be forgotten….” ~ a.k.a. Joyce ———————– Joyce told her story with an utter frankness I could not replicate any other way except by direct quotation. I set about to type out the transcript of the entire interview… [It would] become …the proverbial “writing on the wall.” ~ Mara Jevera Fulmer

December 2005 • Digital Giclee´ Print • 28”h x 112”w “…I have the choice to do something about the structures in Detroit that breed homelessness, or be silent and fail to protect my children…against the same destructive social structures that prove to be a challenge for me….” ~ Rachel ——————— …Expressing a passionate, pleading wish, Rachel challenges the city of Detroit, parents, and the city schools to care… about their children, the African American youth in general, and the future of a city in ruins… ~ Mara Jevera Fulmer

February 2006 • Digital Giclee´ Print • 28”h x 112”w “[They] kept me from falling into the insanity of “Shelterization” which is a lonely pit of helplessness and hopelessness. I set goals for myself as a writer and poet…[I] was inducted into the International Society of Poets as a distinguished member… I have completed a screen play, have several outlines/treatments for future projects… My goal is to be a famous writer.” ~ Dona ———————— Rather than dwell on the pain of her past, she celebrates her liberation from it, writing her stories and poetry, bringing these experiences to a new level of appreciation… Throughout the narrative portrait, however, there are almost no indoor scenes. Dona’s world is not restrained by walls. She tears them down to create a wider range of vision…That is Dona’s life now, a renewal of her artistry, her fortitude, and her spirit. ~ Mara Jevera Fulmer

June 2006 Installation at BCBS Headquarters, Detroit, Michigan

Exhibit Opening, BCBS Headquarters, Detroit

Installation at BCBS Headquarters, Detroit, MI

Summer 2006 Installation at Mott Community College, Flint, Michigan

Installation at Mott Community College, Flint, Michigan, Summer 2006

Research

The artwork for the Telling My Story exhibition was created in support of research work undertaken by Dr. David Moxley and Dr. Olivia G.M. Washington, supported by the School of Social Work and the Institute of Gerontology and Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan.

See some of their research featured in this scholarly article:
Helping Older African American Women Who are Homeless through Visual Images and Creative Strategies, by Washington, O., Feen-Calligan, H., & Moxley, D. (2009). Visual Culture & Gender, 4, 7-20. Retrieved from http://vcg.emitto.net/index.php/vcg/article/view/36

Research

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