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Hallelujah, I'm a Bum!

Grey gallery June 2024

A forgotten tale of riots, work camps and soup kitchens. This show was about the disparity between rich and poor and a window into the struggles of the Auckland working class during the Great Depression.

Inspiration for Hallelujah, I'm a  Bum! came from a small booklet written by the son of Communist Party leader, Jim Edwards, who was savagely beaten by police on the steps of the Auckland Town Hall as he attempted to calm thousands of unemployed who were protesting the government of the day’s inaction.

The show itself was made up of a series of large charcoal, gesso and acrylic artworks on paper (100cm x 80cm) that depict acts of defiance, violence, hope and the harsh conditions families and the unemployed faced at the time.

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