ThirstyFish

Artist: Josh Sarantitis and Katherine Penneckaker, 2010


Please read the two posts introducing the Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program and The Mural Mile before you follow the photo tour. You can also begin the tour with the First Mural.

This is a multi-part mural that wraps around the structure that you see in the photo to the left. It portrays the invisibility, the fears, the struggles and the vulnerability of the Homeless. The detail that you see above is constructed using parachute cloth, weaved onto mats. The fabric used for the mural has written stories of the homeless compiled by muralist/weaver, Katherine Penneckaker. The writing on the top of the mural can be read as IN-DIGNITY or IN-VISIBLE depending on where one stands. You can read more about this mural and public art on Caitlin's Blog.

Common sense dictates that homelessness should not be a significant problem in the richest country on earth in the 21st Century. But, reality is different. As much as 3.5 million people in the United State experience homelessness in a given year. And unfortunately, many of us blame the homeless for their own condition and dismiss them simply as "bums". As the mural suggests, they are indignant and invisible to us. But the contributing causes of homelessness is far more complex then most of us understand: The list includes, lack of employment opportunities, underemployment, poverty, disability, domestic violence, mental disorders, substance abuse, lack of affordable housing, and mortgage foreclosures. There are even examples where foreclosures on landlords lead to tenants being evicted and ending up homeless. Should we be our brother's keeper? What will you do when the invisible become visible?

Here's another view of the mural.