Kelly June Mitchell
I Ain't Got No Home
series of graphite drawings on paper
each drawing 5 in x 7 in or 7 in x 5 in
2012
“Now I look around, it’s might plain to see/ this world is such a great and funny place to be/ Oh the gambling man is rich and the working man is poor/ and I ain’t got no home anymore”
— Woody Guthrie
Each drawing in this series is individually titled with a symbol from a visual language travelers and hobos used to communicate in the 1930s and 40s. One of these markings carved into a fence post or a tree trunk would warn other travelers against a mean landowner or recommend a certain home where they were always willing to share a hot meal.
These drawings are a reaction to the feeling of alienation that comes from a corrupt housing market and skyrocketing rents. Home, a word and a place that is supposed to represent comfort and stability becomes unmoored from that meaning and becomes vaguely threatening and strange.