Why Are You Sleeping?

Curated by Sahar Bano Malik

“Born in the rural American Midwest, Eberle is a self-trained painter and sculptor based between studios in London and Hydra. Eberle’s work is characterised by intense colour and texture. He explores the interactions of form and feeling, those that are perceived and those that are performed, the unknown and the known, the hidden and the overt. His abstract work can take on sculptural qualities, while figures are often seen in various stages of growth, adaptation, and change. Communication is a constant theme: what we tell others and what we tell ourselves; how we project and how we receive; how we shape our memories of the past and expectations for our futures; our relationship with time and the accompanying fears and anxieties.

His works present a multi-dimensional wall of colour and texture. Not a barrier, but one that invites the audience in, enticing the viewer to explore it, feel it, move around and through it. Colours and textures interact, competing for primacy, creating constant movement that allows perception of the work to shift like the feelings and emotions that inspired it. The point of abstraction is not reduction, but rather expansion of the emotional impact on the audience, opening the work to greater personal interpretation. Music has been a constant part of Eberle’s life. And as with songwriting, his work often represents a singular expression of a feeling, an emotion, a thought, an experience, a state of being. It can hold meaning or be assigned it, and it can be interpreted uniquely by different audiences. To connect on an individual level. “I don’t want to tell anyone how to feel, but rather invite them to feel”.

The title comes from a 1968 song by the English band Soft Machine. While it references the teachings of Greco-Armenian philosopher George Gurdjieff that people live in a sort of “waking sleep” state, in this case I use it in several ways, including the literal reference to rough sleeping and the malaise that often accompanies the challenge of homelessness, one that for me is most striking not in its tragedy but in its solvability, as well as its relation to Eberle’s practice.

Of the countless intractable problems we face as a society, from a changing climate to broad scale violence to extreme poverty, few are more prevalent, pressing and solvable in our wealthy societies than homelessness and the related challenges of mental health, healthcare and substance abuse. It begs us to ask, if homelessness is so prevalent and at the same time solvable – with reasonable and available resources – then why are we sleeping? These questions confront us every day in our own lives, and for those working with homelessness, particularly so. To act you must have empathy. To have empathy you must connect. To connect you must know. To know you must see.”

For all press / sales enquiries please contact sahar.malik@hosb.org.uk

House of St Barnabas

House of St Barnabas is London’s only charity members club, on a mission to break the cycle of homelessness. We champion diversity and togetherness and hope to build a uniquely inclusive community in London for all. London continues to be one of the richest cities in the world. And yet in this great city right now there are 180,000 people experiencing homelessness who do not have a safe place to call home. For more information about The House of St Barnabas visit: www.hosb.org.uk

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of all works will go to The House of St Barnabas Charity. Working together we can break the cycle of homelessness.