WINOS / installation at Show N' Tell Gallery San Francisco 1993

WAYNE ZEBZDA'S ART

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99 bottle of Thunderbird wine were set up for a wine tasting at the Gallery. It mimicked the old song "99 bottles on the wall..." Fortified wines were the preference of those living on the street at that time. Living in San Francisco's south of Market Street at 5th and Folsom Street in the 1980's can introduce you to a wide variety of street life. Sixth street was one block away and the site of 'Wino Park' set up by the Glide Memorial Church and Reverend Cecil Williams as a safe haven for homeless down and outs to hang in the daytime. It was a short lived experiment as the Regan era released hundreds of thousands of self medicated mentally ill homeless back onto the streets rather than into the hospitals where the could receive treatment. Confusion, Fear and Chaos mingled with the down and out bums and winos and neglected military vets. Mix in some violent criminals and drug dealers and you have a bad recipe for street life.