Homelessness charity Crisis has this week unveiled a giant, hyper-realistic statue in front of King’s Cross station that aims to make homelessness ‘Impossible to Ignore’ this Christmas.
Developed in partnership with London agency Adam&EveDDB, the 4.3 metre-tall statue uses AI face mapping technology to combine the facial features of 17 real people experiencing homelessness.
It is hoped that through this bold activation the public will be forced to confront the devastating reality of homelessness, after it was revealed that the more homeless people we see, the more we become desensitised to the issue.
“Every day at Crisis we are confronted with the impact homelessness has on people’s lives and every day we see that it doesn’t have to be this way. But we know homelessness is an issue people find overwhelming, and while many want to see change, too many of us continue to turn away,” Crisis head of marketing and communications, Catherine Ashford said.
“Now, with rents rising and increasing cost of living pressures pushing more and more people into homelessness, this growing problem must finally be confronted. That’s why we’ve been delighted to work with Adam&EveDDB on our new campaign to ensure that homelessness cannot be ignored any longer.”
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She continued: “We hope that Alex will not only stop people in their tracks and evoke powerful feelings of connection but that it will inspire conversations about homelessness. Because only when each and every one of us engage with this pressing issue, can we make the changes needed to end it for good.”
The campaign will be supported by a 50-second hero film which premiered during Channel 4’s evening news programme this week, with further assets running across video-on-demand, online and out-of-home until the end of the month.
Adam&EveDDB executive creative director, Mike Sutherland added: “The statistics speak for themselves. Homelessness in the UK is a serious issue that needs urgent attention. We wanted to create something that will stop people in their tracks.
“So, we made an ultra-realistic, lifelike sculpture of someone who is experiencing homelessness called ‘Alex’…that also happens to be the size of a double decker bus. Our hope is that ‘Alex’ will be impossible to ignore and will raise the much-needed attention around homelessness and what we need to do to try and help solve it.”
Named ‘Alex’, the statue can be seen at King’s Cross today (6 December), before being moved to the Bullring in Birmingham where it will remain from 8 to 12 December.
