MURDERED WOMEN...
During Covid 19 lockdown (23rd March - 11th April 2020) women across the U.K. and around the world were being beaten and murdered at an unprecedented rate. In England and Wales alone 14 women and 2 children were murdered*. These murders and the way in which the media covered these tragedies urged me to create THREE WEEKS IN LOCKDOWN, a project of travelling nearly 2000 miles across the U.K. documenting the women murdered over that 3 week period.
*The source of data used is from counting dead women by Karen Ingala Smith, which does not include transwomen.
My piece, THREE WEEKS IN LOCKDOWN 2020 was inspired by Suzanne Lacy's project Three Weeks in May 1977
THREE WEEKS IN LOCKDOWN is a 4.5 minute video work and forms part of an ongoing project of recording and acknowledging murdered women.
Available to view on my YouTube channel.
PILLOW TALK- LONDON
An art Installation / Protest against femicide that took place on Richmond Terrace, directly opposite Downing street on November 13th 2021. The protest displayed a line of pillowcases, each with the hand sewn name and age of a women murdered by male violence this year. The line of pillowcases measured an overwhelming 90 metres in length. The sheer numbers of names (*118 and rising) created quite a shocking and saddening impact. Through the power of gathering we aimed to offer a vigil of sorts to acknowledge not only some of the women murdered by male violence, but all women with equal respect and recognition.
After this peaceful action a number of us moved over to the Downing Street gates with handmade placards to call on Boris to take action against the epidemic violence against Women.
Excerpt from press release: Alice Brookes, who designed the artwork, explained: ‘I chose to use pillows as they represent a safe, peaceful space at home to rest your head, yet the tragic irony is that home is the most dangerous place for women. The violence behind closed doors highlights the continued power imbalance between men and women within the home. ‘Pillow Talk’ aims to create a temporary place where these murdered women are all remembered, and their names celebrated peacefully. The pillowcases were hand sewn over a period of months by myself with the help of fellow artist Miranda Miller.
*The source of data used is from counting dead women by Karen Ingala Smith, which does not include transwomen.
The Images were taken by photojournalist: GUILHEM BAKER
