Pictures by homeless people rub frames with photography greats
A major exhibition of the work of homeless people includes more than 100 rare and signed works
‘I liked her determined look and strong ironic smile,’ says Paul Kelly of one of a selection of his photographs chosen for a major exhibition Photograph: Paul Kelly/Crisis
In his wildest dreams during years of homelessness, Paul Kelly would never have envisaged that photographs taken by him would one day hang alongside rarely seen works by such giants of the art world as Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon and Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Three of Kelly's photographs have been selected for a major exhibition that includes more than 100 rare and signed works, and which opens today in the splendour of Somerset House in central London. The most collectable photos will be auctioned next month in aid of homelessness charity Crisis – among them a royal diptych comprising a portrait of Prince William, the charity's patron.
Kelly, 57, started out as a hairdresser in Bristol, then led an eclectic life as a community worker minding school gates against razor-toting crack dealers, putting on fledgling graffiti artist Banksy's first show, as a DJ, and as a musician.
He became homeless three years ago when he moved to Newcastle upon Tyne to fulfil his dream of going to university. But as an older single man without a family or dependent children, Kelly was not classed as "priority need" for housing by the council and was forced to sleep on friends' sofas or try to find a space in a hostel for homeless people.
After spending three months "sofa surfing", he lived in a hostel for five months, which he says was "emotionally draining". He heard about Crisis's new Skylight centre in Newcastle, where he learned to type and developed his photography skills. Now he is in the final year of a photography degree, looking forward to his pictures rubbing frames with the greats in London.
Kelly says being selected among several homeless people to show his work in the exhibition, A Positive View, is a great honour. "Since Crisis helped me, I have discovered a lot about fine art photography, which I feel has put me in good stead for this exhibition," he says. "Very few photographers get an opportunity like this."
The exhibition's theme is the collision of opposites, bringing together ultra-chic high-fashion shots with raw images such as Kelly's Fifty Pence Diptych Part 1 and Part 2, which depict the aftermath of fights. Of Part 2, he says: "The subject was beaten up by another girl and had come to Crisis to get away from the situation. I liked her determined look and strong ironic smile."
The title is a parody of one of the most expensive photographs in the world: Andreas Gursky's 99 Cent II Diptychon, which sold for over $3m in 2007.
Kelly says he hopes that the exhibition will "highlight the need for more affordable housing. Power to the people."
• A Positive View is at Somerset House, London until 5 April. Details of the auction at Christie's on 15 April at
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