Neither Strivers Nor Skivers, They Will Not Define Us, 2020

sound (20 minutes and 36 seconds, looped), series of wall mounted posters and a wall painting

Neither Strivers Nor Skivers, They Will Not Define Us brings together a series of artworks that grew out of my research into Sylvia Pankhurst (1882-1960), a socialist feminist and anti-fascist from the UK, alongside the current concerns of feminist organisers in East London. The project began when I found Pankhurst’s play Liberty or Death (c. 1913), in the archives of the Women’s Library in London, without reference to it ever having been performed or published. This script became the starting point for meetings with grassroot activists in women’s centres and community spaces in London, and a series of artworks, many of which are included in the exhibition.

In the sound work we hear a montage of female voices describing their daily lives. They detail the return of what seem like nineteenth-century living conditions: the violent effects of the British government’s policies of austerity – which have pushed a disproportionate number of women into poverty since the financial crisis of 2008 – and the ‘hostile environment’, which has fuelled anti-immigrant feelings in the UK. Forced into unpaid care work, or struggling with a punitive benefits system, precarious housing conditions, racism and detention, the women turn to protest. The experiences of police intimidation that follow, underlines the violence with which those in power continue to respond to struggles for equal rights. The networks of care and solidarity that they create, enable them to change their situations and challenge the status quo. Accompanying the women’s voices are a series of posters on the walls of the gallery, showing bold black-and-white slogans based on their words, like newspaper headlines.

With thanks to Crossroads Women’s Centre and Focus E15 Campaign.

Arrest!, 2021 

pencil on paper drawings

The pencil drawings, which were first exhibited in the 34th Bienal de São Paulo, 2021, are based on early twentieth century press photographs of suffragettes being apprehended by the police. These women are shown in all their individuality, whereas the identities of the men are masked by their uniforms, and the actions they perform are indistinguishable from those of the police officers who violently break up protests today. This is an experience shared by many in the contemporary activist groups that I spoke with during my research for this project, underlining the violence with which those in power continue to respond to struggles for equal rights.