When artist Christopher Hoggins received an eviction notice from his landlord of 13 years in 2020, it began a lengthy court process which saw him eventually lose his home in 2022.
Now, Hoggins has turned his painful experiences into something powerful. The 53-year-old, who lives with autism and has heart problems, has collected his Escher-like illustrations based on his situation in a unique art book, Roof-less.
“I was oblivious to just how bad the housing crisis was before my landlord told me that they were selling up,” Hoggins told the Big Issue.
“Like with many traumatic life events, you suddenly learn an awful lot in a short space of time, some of it was shocking and some absolutely crazy. Once it was all over, I wanted to do something with that knowledge and make everything that I went through mean something and also to process the trauma in a useful and positive way.”
The cost of living crisis and record-high rents have seen a rising number of people facing a no-fault eviction since the Westminster government paused evictions during the pandemic.
In Scotland, measures pausing evictions and capping rent increases due to the rising cost of living have only just expired.