Broke Avenue is a series of paintings about places, or better: the feel of certain places. You know, that part of town no one really wants to go, cause it’s a bit left behind, in need of renovation and lacking optimism. A has-been that’s been left in a bit of a state, boarded-up opportunities included. Often these areas are post industrial remnants, where the future just doesn’t want to appear bright any more. Because the reason they once came alive has been removed. 

 

A thriving community once, a place where people used to open shops, bars, cafes… all with the same feeling of hope and a strong belief in future possibilities. Today, depending on the social security system of the country you’re in they are at best subsidised to a level where nothing gets out of control, at worst these areas are actually dangerous no-go-zones. Either way a lack of hope never seems a healthy way of life for anybody. 

 

But then I am not here to judge social issues, that’s not the intention of these pieces. I am here to celebrate these places which are also sites full of history, resilience, stories and culture. They witnessed the passage of time, of human life. 

 

Every Broke Avenue out there was once a thriving hub of life and community, and I cannot stop believing that under the right conditions they can become exactly that again. 

 

So yes, this series is about stuff that’s seen better days as well as it is about hope. 

 

Thanks for reading, S