Meet the successful artist who had to live in her camper van

When Deborah Donnelly put her VW Transporter up for sale recently, buyers were looking to use it as a home - which brought up memories of when Deborah was experiencing her own housing crisis

Deborah Donnelly, artist, at her studio in Marlay Park. Photograph Moya Nolan

A generic ad selling a VW Transporter van on Done deal should have been a happy experience for the seller. Instead, for Irish artist Deborah Donnelly, it was anything but positive and another trigger of a time in her life she would rather forget.

With nearly 2,000 views in the short time the ad was placed, Deborah’s viewers came in droves looking to buy her van. The van in Deborah’s case, was used as a camper van for staycations during the pandemic. But the buyers were looking for the van to be used as a home. It had also been Deborah’s ‘home’ when she was experiencing her own housing crisis just under five years ago. Memories and flashbacks of that horrendous time came flooding back. It was a housing experience with an Irish mortgage provider and unethical financial advisers which ultimately left her with huge mortgage arrears and no home for her and her children.