14 November 2012 Last updated at 06:07

In pictures: London's homeless women in focus

Maria, 25, walking through the subway at Elephant & Castle

An exhibition entitled "Where from? Where now?" promises to offer a glimpse into the lives of some of London's homeless women. It opens on Wednesday at the Oxo Tower Wharf on the South Bank.

Photographer Georgina Cranston's image of Lucy, 38, looking out of her bedroom window in a semi-independent hostel. Cranston spent eight months in hostels, going out with outreach teams and meeting rough sleepers.

Maria, 25, with a tattoo of her daughter's name on her arm

Some of Cranston's subjects are known as "hidden homeless" - people who have no permanent home or who live on other people's floors and sofas. Some sleep rough and others live in hostels, like Maria, 25.

Since 2011, Cranston has been working with homelessness charity St Mungo's, which provides services for the homeless in London and the south of England. Many women are reduced to begging.

Sheds in London used as sleeping sites for the homeless

Cranston said the women had survived traumatic events in their lives. These sheds are sleeping sites for the homeless.

An extract from Lucy's diary while she was in hospital following a breakdown.

The multimedia exhibition at the gallery@oxo will run until 18 November.

London

In pictures: London's homeless women in focus

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