'The Unity of Women' (detail) 2015 Wood and lino tea tray, metal tea pot, metal tea strainer, glass cup and saucer, Tetley tea, hot water (optional), painted plastic figurines 45 x 14 x 28 cm
Exhibited at Embassy Tea Gallery, London 2015; Euroart Studio London 2016
This piece came to me as a hallucination while I was stirring one of those fancy silk pyramid teabags. I was close to deadline for a site-responsive exhibition at Embassy Tea Gallery with my tenthirtyart colleagues. I had wanted to make a piece about the conditions endured by women in today's tea industry, based on research by my oldest friend Sabita Banerji (please check out her charity THIRST), and the title is based on the English translation of the name of the tea workers' trade union Pembilai Orumai. At first, you don't see the women in the tea strainer. We don't look enough and we don't think enough about who does the hardest work in the tea industry.
Exhibited at Embassy Tea Gallery, London 2015; Euroart Studio London 2016
This piece came to me as a hallucination while I was stirring one of those fancy silk pyramid teabags. I was close to deadline for a site-responsive exhibition at Embassy Tea Gallery with my tenthirtyart colleagues. I had wanted to make a piece about the conditions endured by women in today's tea industry, based on research by my oldest friend Sabita Banerji (please check out her charity THIRST), and the title is based on the English translation of the name of the tea workers' trade union Pembilai Orumai. At first, you don't see the women in the tea strainer. We don't look enough and we don't think enough about who does the hardest work in the tea industry.
'The Unity of Women' (installation view) 2015 Wood and lino tea tray, metal tea pot, metal tea strainer, glass cup and saucer, Tetley tea, hot water (optional), painted plastic figurines 45 x 14 x 28 cm
Exhibited at Embassy Tea Gallery, London 2015; Euroart Studio London 2016
Once I'd had the hallucination I just had to find all the components for the piece. Nearly everything here is from charity shops, except for the tiny plastic women, and the tea. I chose Tetley tea because they were in the news at the time for poor worker conditions, but it could have been more or less any major tea brand. Every morning of the exhibition I made a fresh pot of tea and poured it through the strainer, over the women. Who made your tea?
Exhibited at Embassy Tea Gallery, London 2015; Euroart Studio London 2016
Once I'd had the hallucination I just had to find all the components for the piece. Nearly everything here is from charity shops, except for the tiny plastic women, and the tea. I chose Tetley tea because they were in the news at the time for poor worker conditions, but it could have been more or less any major tea brand. Every morning of the exhibition I made a fresh pot of tea and poured it through the strainer, over the women. Who made your tea?
“Two leaves and a bud” 2015 Tea tray, sari fabric, tea bag, Tetley tea, painted plastic figurines 39 x 8 x 20 cm
Exhibited at Embassy Tea Gallery, London 2015; Euroart Studio London 2016
The tea bag is full of women and the fabric bags are full of tea. The Union flag tea tray was a gift from the universe, a lucky charity shop find along with the sari fabrics. The title is based on PG Tips' claim that their nimble-fingered workers picked only the very best tea from the tips of the branches. Best not to mention the up to 40kg loaded basket carried back down at the end of the day by a worker who weighs little more than that herself, and gets the lowest pay in her industry.
Exhibited at Embassy Tea Gallery, London 2015; Euroart Studio London 2016
The tea bag is full of women and the fabric bags are full of tea. The Union flag tea tray was a gift from the universe, a lucky charity shop find along with the sari fabrics. The title is based on PG Tips' claim that their nimble-fingered workers picked only the very best tea from the tips of the branches. Best not to mention the up to 40kg loaded basket carried back down at the end of the day by a worker who weighs little more than that herself, and gets the lowest pay in her industry.
'Vision: After Rana (Own It)'2016 Hand-drawn animation (MP4 file), LED projector, media player, T-shirts, coat hangers Nominally 150cm x 250cm x 60cm Exhibited at Rag Factory, London 2016, and Camden Image Gallery 2021 (Collection of Jana Valencic)
This version of 'Vision' was made for a site-responsive group show at the Rag Factory gallery in Brick Lane, London in 2016. I was unable to finish the 3 meter high drawings I had originally planned, as I'd had emergency spinal fusion surgery at the end of 2015 and was limited in what I could physically do. The piece features a 27 second looped hand-drawn animation projected onto a backdrop of Primark garments, with a pile of wire coat hangers on the floor underneath (not shown). It was my response to the disaster at the Rana Plaza garment factory in 2013 (this exhibition was originally scheduled to take place in the week of the third anniversary of the factory collapse). When the animation was shown again in 2021, the Rana Plaza workers had still not been properly compensated for their injuries. Many of them are still waiting almost 10 years after the disaster.
This version of 'Vision' was made for a site-responsive group show at the Rag Factory gallery in Brick Lane, London in 2016. I was unable to finish the 3 meter high drawings I had originally planned, as I'd had emergency spinal fusion surgery at the end of 2015 and was limited in what I could physically do. The piece features a 27 second looped hand-drawn animation projected onto a backdrop of Primark garments, with a pile of wire coat hangers on the floor underneath (not shown). It was my response to the disaster at the Rana Plaza garment factory in 2013 (this exhibition was originally scheduled to take place in the week of the third anniversary of the factory collapse). When the animation was shown again in 2021, the Rana Plaza workers had still not been properly compensated for their injuries. Many of them are still waiting almost 10 years after the disaster.
'Vision' 2016 Hand drawn animation frame 180/180 Ink on A4 layout paper (drawing size approx 14 x 8 cm)
The original version of 'Vision' was based on a dream I had in 1986 when I was on Foundation at Birmingham Polytechnic, and the dream was a huge black and white cartoon that I was swallowed up by. I have made so many versions of this work, large and small scale drawings and collages, direct wall drawings, and a ceramic version. In 2013 one of my MA Art and Science colleagues suggested making an animation so I could show it at whatever scale I wanted, and eventually I did (thank you Susan Beattie).
The original version of 'Vision' was based on a dream I had in 1986 when I was on Foundation at Birmingham Polytechnic, and the dream was a huge black and white cartoon that I was swallowed up by. I have made so many versions of this work, large and small scale drawings and collages, direct wall drawings, and a ceramic version. In 2013 one of my MA Art and Science colleagues suggested making an animation so I could show it at whatever scale I wanted, and eventually I did (thank you Susan Beattie).
Drowned World (London +4oC)' 2019 Collage, predicted sea-level data from Climate Central, tissue and gold ink on reclaimed stretcher and repurposed cotton toile 76 x 60.5 x 4cm
Exhibited in Confluence, London 2019; Depictions of Living, Mile End Art Pavilion London 2020; Ikon Gallery, Birmingham 2021
This work was made for 'Confluence' a group show of artists working on environmental themes, invited and curated by Justine Johnson at Safehouse 1 in London. The collage features pages from the London A-Z and projected sea level data from Climate Central to show how the areas of London I lived and worked in would be affected by a rise in global temperature of 4°C. The Safehouse would be safe, but my studio in Tottenham would be drowned.
Exhibited in Confluence, London 2019; Depictions of Living, Mile End Art Pavilion London 2020; Ikon Gallery, Birmingham 2021
This work was made for 'Confluence' a group show of artists working on environmental themes, invited and curated by Justine Johnson at Safehouse 1 in London. The collage features pages from the London A-Z and projected sea level data from Climate Central to show how the areas of London I lived and worked in would be affected by a rise in global temperature of 4°C. The Safehouse would be safe, but my studio in Tottenham would be drowned.
'Promises, Promises, Promises' (detail) 2021 Collage (GB election manifestoes from 2015, 2017 and 2019), tissue and gold ink on cotton duck and reclaimed stretchers, triptych 100 x 100cm each panel
This work was originally planned in 2019 for an Anthropocene-focused exhibition in May 2020, but the first Covid lockdown meant the exhibition was cancelled and I could not go to work at my studio. At home I carried out qualitative and quantitative analysis of the election manifestoes of the main GB political parties, to establish how much of their word count was related to environmental concerns. Each party was then assigned the proportionate space on the canvas, and I used the relevant text from the manifestoes as the under layer for each piece. The colours are based on the party colours, so you can see at a glance how much each of the parties talked about the local and global environment. I did not differentiate between positive and negative policy proposals, I simply looked at how often the environment was mentioned. I finally completed the work in 2021.
This work was originally planned in 2019 for an Anthropocene-focused exhibition in May 2020, but the first Covid lockdown meant the exhibition was cancelled and I could not go to work at my studio. At home I carried out qualitative and quantitative analysis of the election manifestoes of the main GB political parties, to establish how much of their word count was related to environmental concerns. Each party was then assigned the proportionate space on the canvas, and I used the relevant text from the manifestoes as the under layer for each piece. The colours are based on the party colours, so you can see at a glance how much each of the parties talked about the local and global environment. I did not differentiate between positive and negative policy proposals, I simply looked at how often the environment was mentioned. I finally completed the work in 2021.
'Promises, Promises, Promises' 2021 (installation view, Birmingham Open Studios 2021, The Old Print Works, Birmingham) Collage (GB election manifestoes from 2015, 2017 and 2019), tissue and gold ink on cotton duck and reclaimed stretchers, triptych 100 x 100cm each panel
This work was planned as a diptych, but then there was a snap election in 2019 so I had to add a third panel. Luckily I had a third stretcher of the same size. The work didn't read as well as I had hoped in a more general context because most people aren't familiar the political party colours. The narrow blue line represents the Conservative party's comparative interest in environmental policy over the last three election campaigns. Even UKIP (purple) had more to say on the topic - not all of that was in the best interests of the planet, but they were at least raising concerns about animal welfare.
Although not a true rainbow in terms of the colours used, this work was seen more as being LGBTQIA+ allied, and it is heartening to think that the rainbow flag is now more widely recognised and accepted for what it represents. I had some lovely conversations with people about their perception of this work at Birmingham Open Studios.
An artwork doesn't have to mean what the artist thinks it means.
This work was planned as a diptych, but then there was a snap election in 2019 so I had to add a third panel. Luckily I had a third stretcher of the same size. The work didn't read as well as I had hoped in a more general context because most people aren't familiar the political party colours. The narrow blue line represents the Conservative party's comparative interest in environmental policy over the last three election campaigns. Even UKIP (purple) had more to say on the topic - not all of that was in the best interests of the planet, but they were at least raising concerns about animal welfare.
Although not a true rainbow in terms of the colours used, this work was seen more as being LGBTQIA+ allied, and it is heartening to think that the rainbow flag is now more widely recognised and accepted for what it represents. I had some lovely conversations with people about their perception of this work at Birmingham Open Studios.
An artwork doesn't have to mean what the artist thinks it means.