The Big Issue (yellow)
Signed Print

“I think my homeless period informs my art – definitely.” This notion is nowhere more present than in The Big Issue - a clear gesture to the artist’s experience of homelessness and his hope to give back to the homeless community through his art. He notes that ‘It was the Hackney community that helped me get back on my feet. It was squatting and eventually social housing which enabled me to gain a foothold and get back to a decent standard of life. Street art was my way of giving back to the people who helped me'.

The subject matter of The Big Issue is inextricable from the urban setting of Stik's street art. Developed as a reflection of the feelings of isolation and vulnerability that Stik experienced while living on the streets, the lone stickman in the print conveys Stik's sense of urban isolation, underlined by his mournful gaze, and provokes a feeling of detachment and withdrawal.