Member’s Spotlight

My practice has been centred on ‘identity' and ‘belonging’ and I am interested specifically in ‘labelling’ – how others perceive and categorise people. Recently I have also been thinking about gender. This was prompted by the increased reporting of violence towards women during the pandemic and associated lockdown and the rise of the #metoo movement. These are difficult subjects and made me think about the female place in society and their perceived roles. Historically women have had to deal with experiences like the glass ceiling, mansplaining, street harrassment etc. Lately the #metoo movement has now highlighted the widespread prevalence of sexual violence towards women and empowered individuals to raise and speak about their experiences. It is a movement that is driven by empathy and solidarity between women – who are joined by their silken thread of common experience. The female experience is also defined with labels – wife, mother, spinster, weak, strong, middle-aged, old, fat, thin, ugly, pretty etc, etc. Who applies these labels and do they actually define us? My view is that we are all so much more than the labels assigned to us and at the same time we all share the same biological beginnings. We are at once the same and unique. I am exploring these ideas in my work and making pieces that respond to the currently accepted concepts of race, gender, identity and belonging.