Art by modern slavery survivors shown across city

HomeNewsUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessWorld of BusinessTechnology of BusinessNYSE Opening BellTechnologyWatch DocumentariesArtificial IntelligenceIntelligence RevolutionAI v the MindTech NowHealthWatch DocumentariesCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListTo the Ends of the Earth EarthWatch DocumentariesScienceNatural WondersClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroDiscover the WorldLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesSite searchHomeNewsSportBusinessTechnologyHealthCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersArt by modern slavery survivors shown across city12 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleConnie BowkerLondonHestiaMannequin is one of Mary's pieces being showcased in the exhibitionThis article contains details that some readers may find distressing

"I'm not the person I was six months ago. I'm a person full of possibility."

Victor – not his real name – is a survivor of modern day slavery.

He is describing the impact of creating art in workshops organised by the charity Hestia, which helps people who have been trafficked to rebuild their lives.

He is one of 26 survivors whose work is being featured in the Art is Freedom exhibition that has gone on show across London to raise awareness about the crime.

Victor was born in London. He was trafficked abroad by an organised crime group when he was four and forced into servitude and sexually abused.

He had not drawn since he was five years old, when the abuse began.

"They told me I didn't have any talent and I was useless, and I really believed that.

"Although I was very eager to try to reconnect with art after all these years, I was scared."

Over the past few months, Victor has been taking part in a series of creative workshops along with other survivors.

He said: "It was a place where, even though everybody had suffered trauma in their life, nobody was talking about it.

"We weren't survivors, we were all artists. Nobody felt like a victim in there."

Prior to the workshops, Victor had spent seven years living in isolation, waiting for the Home Office to investigate his case and grant him asylum.

"It was seven years doing absolutely nothing, connecting with no-one, talking to nobody. I was in a very bad place.

"It was like some sort of captivity inside myself, just waiting to die."

He says the workshops have been a "beam of light" in his life helping him rediscover his love of art.

"Now I want to explore more of my talents that have been buried inside me for the past 50 years," added Victor.

Mary – not her real name – says seeing her work go on display has felt "surreal".

She was imprisoned by her family for the majority of her life, but says art has always felt like an escape.

"I wasn't allowed to interact with people or contact anyone, I was just kept in this room and my purpose to my family was just to help make them money."

Mary's painting is a reflection of how she feels navigating life now she is free.

"It's a faceless mannequin because I felt stripped of my identity and isolated because my experience growing up was so different from other people's."

She says the background represents the beauty she finds in the outside world.

"Since being free I've found so much love for things like flowers, animals and the sky.

"These are things other people take for granted because they're able to see them every day so they've become part of their background noise, but for me it's so vivid how lovely everything is."

Mary says the workshops have felt like a safe and non-judgemental space and an opportunity to connect with other survivors.

"Our experiences are isolating because they're so uniquely traumatic, but we've all experienced something horrifying.

"It's hard to connect with a lot of people you meet outside because you're from a different world to them, but these people were from similar worlds."

Hestia, the charity which organised the workshops and the art show, has said there are up to 130,000 people living in modern slavery in the UK.

CEO, Patrick Ryan, said: "It's a crime which is hidden, it's out of sight. People don't believe it's happening in their neighbourhood, but it is, and it's on the rise."

The UK's independent anti-slavery commissioner Eleanor Lyons helped to curate the exhibition.

She said the cost of living crisis coupled with cuts to support services has created an "increased vulnerability in society", making people more likely to fall into the traps of exploitation.

The low prosecution rate for modern slavery and human trafficking is making it even more attractive to criminals, she added.

"Perpetrators are using new ways to reach and exploit people at scale.

"We know they're using AI, they're hiding behind social media platforms, they're really adapting the way they reach vulnerable victims and they're being ruthless doing so."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk