When someone says something to you that sets you off on a whole new journey. For me it was when I was doing a shift as a waitress in the pub I have worked at on and off since I was 14. A customer said “if a woman is earning a lot of money she is doing a man’s job.” and I was left with that conflict of being at work and trying to stay professional and seething inside.
The family all know that I talk through my art, this work started as a way for me to portray what has been said to me, sometimes really pissing me off. I then became inspired to give other women a voice. I have been overwhelmed by the words sent to me and I see this exhibition as a work in progress as there is still so much to portray. The feedback already from some of those women has been the most important thing; one said it was cathartic and another said they had been carrying around the words for years without ever sharing them.
The family all know that I talk through my art, this work started as a way for me to portray what has been said to me, sometimes really pissing me off. I then became inspired to give other women a voice. I have been overwhelmed by the words sent to me and I see this exhibition as a work in progress as there is still so much to portray. The feedback already from some of those women has been the most important thing; one said it was cathartic and another said they had been carrying around the words for years without ever sharing them.
When I was deciding how to make this work I instantly knew I wanted to put the words on something inherently feminine and the act of embroidery creates a conversation between the brash sayings and the delicate, domestic textiles.
So that was what it took to start me off thinking about the things men say.
WILLOW STACEY 