A project led by Royal Trinity Hospice and members of King George’s Hostel in Westminster have created a unique piece of artwork highlighting the hopes and fears of hostel residents when it comes to talking about death and dying.

The piece, titled ‘The Other Little Ben’ was made by men accessing the hostel, situated a stone’s throw from the Houses of Parliament.

The hostel is a key lifeline for homeless single men, supporting them with housing, substance abuse services and life skills courses.

Funded by Hospice UK’s Dying Matters Community Fund (supported by Dignity Funerals), 36 men took part in workshops exploring themes around death, dying, loss, legacy and hospice care.

The creative lead on the project was award-winning artist David Tovey, who has exhibited internationally including at the Atsa Festival Montreal, Kunsthall Stavern Norway, Tate Modern and Tate Liverpool. His own experiences helped shape the creative direction for the artwork.

Speaking about the process, David Tovey said: “The impact has been remarkable. Many individuals from the hostel have expressed a desire to create art and engage with it, particularly after one of them visited my exhibition in Waterloo. This is a significant step, especially considering that cultural spaces can often feel inaccessible to the homeless community.”

The workshops provided a space to hear and capture the thoughts of the group before the participants created individual contributions which fed into one overall collaborative art piece. A film capturing the voices, emotions and experiences of the contributors was also made.

Throughout the workshops, themes of time and legacy emerged, leading the group to build a representation of ‘Little Ben’, which can be found at the intersection of Vauxhall Bridge Road and Victoria Street, not far from King George’s itself. The ‘Little Ben’ clock tower is a replica of ‘Big Ben’, a symbol synonymous with Westminster, the area with the highest number of rough sleepers in the UK.

The piece includes visual representations of the average age of death of people experiencing homelessness. The average age of death for men experiencing homelessness is 46, for women it is only 42 (compared to the national average - just over 78 years of age for men and 82 for females).*

People experiencing homelessness report significant barriers to accessing healthcare, making the project an important link to services provided by the UK’s oldest hospice. Royal Trinity Hospice aims to build links with local hostels and organisations, carrying out visits from their Community Nursing teams and allied health professionals to ensure that everyone in the community they serve has access to their specialist services, no matter where they live. 

The charity has planned further partnership work with King George’s Hostel for 2025 with plans to host a group of residents at the hospice for gardening. The group will also have the chance to take plant clippings from the award-winning hospice gardens back to the hostel to grow their own memorial garden to remember hostel residents who have died.

‘The Other Little Ben’ is on display at Royal Trinity Hospice with a planned film screening showcasing Rob Jewitt’s film, which captures the creation of the artwork at Clapham based Studio Voltaire on 10 October, (World Homeless Day) 6:00-8:00pm. 

Studio Voltaire, 1A Nelsons Row, London SW4 7JR, Open Wednesday–Sunday, 10 am–5 pm. www.studiovoltaire.org