I've felt witnessed seen

Kill them before they kill me
movement sight smell
educate myself 
dog eat cat
educate myself be
succinct in life
got to choice the rite road in life
and I will
stick to it
A friend murdered 97 injuries
I've felt witnessed seen
affected me big time.....

Unedited poem from Anon, 
A veteran of the armed forces. 

rusting fabric and paper for the project Armour.

Armour is a project that uses words and stitches to explore the ways we protect ourselves. It is a collaboration with veterans of armed conflict and with people who have lived experience of homelessness. We asked people to describe their personal "armour", physical and mental. Artworks inspired by gambesons, the quilted jackets worn under suits of armour, were made out of rust dyed fabric and embroidered with poems, and other writings. arthur-martha.com/portfolio/armour/

Street

Being in the street
looking over my shoulder
paranoia
the night
dark
shaking
scared to fall asleep
got to stay awake
thieves
people trying to hurt
vulnerable
suicide
anxiety
asking for money
don't know who
hunger
weight loss
alone.


Saf Hussain





Armour is a project that uses words and stitches to explore the ways we protect ourselves. It is a collaboration with veterans of armed conflict and with people who have lived experience of homelessness. We asked people to describe their personal "armour", physical and mental. Artworks inspired by gambesons, the quilted jackets worn under suits of armour, were made out of rust dyed fabric and embroidered with poems, and other writings. arthur-martha.com/portfolio/armour/

Observe Yourself

Observe yourself when the mind is viciously dismantled

As the plummeting connections descend from fields above

Defences fail and life falls into a dark disarray

Observe yourself when the mind is viciously dismantled

Wondering why others are reluctant to be impressed

Pain remembers when they land you with truth

Observe yourself when the mind is viciously dismantled

As the plummeting connections descend from fields above

Anonymous

Armour is a project that uses words and stitches to explore the ways we protect ourselves. It is a collaboration with veterans of armed conflict and with people who have lived experience of homelessness. We asked people to describe their personal "armour", physical and mental. Artworks inspired by gambesons, the quilted jackets worn under suits of armour, were made out of rust dyed fabric and embroidered with poems, and other writings. arthur-martha.com/portfolio/armour/

Armour artwork

Safety in Numbers

safety in numbers link on link

link with friends hard and light

light from the chains and shields

shields protection and noisy

noisy shouts and clanging screams

screams of people pain and grief

grief of friends as fallen flow

flow of rivers of missing foe

foe that's banished to wide open spaces

spaces spaces it’s what we fought for

for spaces to share with friends

friends friends linked linked together hand

hands safe safe

Peter S

Armour is a project that uses words and stitches to explore the ways we protect ourselves. It is a collaboration with veterans of armed conflict and with people who have lived experience of homelessness. We asked people to describe their personal "armour", physical and mental. Artworks inspired by gambesons, the quilted jackets worn under suits of armour, were made out of rust dyed fabric and embroidered with poems, and other writings. arthur-martha.com/portfolio/armour/

design work for the project Armour

Linking my Defences

LINKING MY DEFENCES

TO PROTECT ME FROM HARM

WORKS LIKE A CHARM

Lawrence McGill

Lawrence's embroidery

Armour is a project that uses words and stitches to explore the ways we protect ourselves. It is a collaboration with veterans of armed conflict and with people who have lived experience of homelessness. We asked people to describe their personal "armour", physical and mental. Artworks inspired by gambesons, the quilted jackets worn under suits of armour, were made out of rust dyed fabric and embroidered with poems, and other writings. arthur-martha.com/portfolio/armour/