The ground that gathers beneath my feet

Plaster casts of bare feet are placed throughout St Giles’ Cripplegate, resting on stone, laid upon blankets, tucked beneath pews, set before the altar, as if their owners might return at any moment. They were made by young YMCA residents who have experienced homelessness and displacement, during workshops with artist Helen Barff, accompanied by Rev’d Lucy Newman Cleeve in her role as chaplain.

Each cast holds the marks of lived experience: the pressure of journeys walked, the scars of endurance, the memories of home carried forward. Recorded interviews with participants give voice to these journeys: stories of crossing seas and borders, of family scattered by war, of the hope and faith carried into new places.

In response, Helen Barff reflects on her own childhood in Sudan and sudden departure during the outbreak of civil war. Her new works, made from casts of her children’s shoes layered with protective blankets, speak of memory, shelter, and the fragile ground of belonging.

Placed within the church, these works invite echoes of scripture and tradition, where bare feet signal reverence, kinship, and care. They also resonate with the wider history of the City of London, where journeys of arrival have always left their trace.

Together, the casts and voices form a conversation about movement, memory, and belonging. In a time of renewed suspicion toward migrants and strangers, they hold open space for recognition, dignity, and the vision of sacred ground as shared ground.