Dissent in London

These photographs use the embroidery from Day 1 – but by treating the piece as a banner in front of a backdrop extends the meaning of the piece.  I was really inspired by the placards created by Block I artists Peter Driver and James McColl, where placing phrases in against a different location add a new meaning to the original text.

The banner takes inspiration from the recent Women’s Rights marches across the globe, which I have only experienced through digital media (TV, internet and social media).  The images are informed by modern methods of campaigning for social change, which still use traditional marches and petitions, but are made stronger by powerful images spread across social media.

At the Houses of Parliament – dissenting about government policy and protesting for change.

Banner looking from the Tate Modern, to the commerce district – dissenting about capitalism, the wealth of one group soars at the expense of another.
 
The image is inspired by Victorian artist George Watts, who often painted controversial subjects revealing the plight of the poor.  The painting Found Drowned features the body of a women, washed up on the shoreline after committing suicide from Waterloo Bridge.  Watts was making a comment about the double standards in Victorian Britain, where women were unfairly punished by society.  Despite the prosperity of the city in the background, it has no place for the fallen women.
​RG