CGI Gallery
Liberty Abdey
Ayeesha Ayinla
Tara Barton-Leigh
Iminee Boyd-Cox
Christopher Brown
Tom Buller
Mia Rosa Curtis-Mays
Jemma Elvin
Sophie Evans
Zoe Everett-Taylor
Jasmine Forsyth
Sienna Glasford
Nicholas Halliday
Charlotte Jones
Patryk Komenderski
James Lambert
Oskar Maslanka
Jessica Mennell
Jacques Studley
Elena-Catalina Toltica
Issie Treacher
Aurora Way
Dan Webb
Charlotte White
Emily Wildash
Summer-Lee Wilson
Who Are We
Achievements
‘Baby Girl’ explores women’s experiences of street harassment and unwanted male attention. In order to respond to these issues, I have conducted interviews with seven women, each asking them a question regarding a personal experience to them, and recording their response.
I think street harassment is an important topic to explore as it is such a common occurrence, which is problematic in itself, yet almost normalised and brushed off. It happens to almost every woman, the men involved objectify them, and it has many consequences to the way’s women live their lives.
Although artists and filmmakers such as Derek Jarman and Charlotte Prodger have been very influential in this project, it is the books I’ve read which have inspired me the most. Learning about the past of feminism and the subtle rejection of the movement throughout history, in works such as Faludi’s ‘Backlash’, has really opened my eyes and made me want to continue creating this work.
I find ‘Baby Girl’ to be powerful and it communicates my initial intentions; being the severity of the problem. Hearing all of these women’s experiences together, in one consecutive recording, proves how common these awful events of microaggression are.
I made the decision to place the viewer in the train, because I find this as a space, is quite paradoxical; its hugely public, yet also private; granting you the privacy of thinking and really getting inside your mind. Further, the mundaneness of the ordinary journey complements the seriousness yet vulnerability of the experiences we are listening to. Being on a train and looking out the window puts me in a very specific mental state. I am watching the outside world go by, yet I am not paying attention to the specific details. I am simply taking a passive view on the constant motion of the outside world. I find this is a place where I have minimal external distractions, thus being able to get lost in my thoughts.
This contemplative state is one which I thought would work well upon hearing the experiences that these women have gone through. I find it almost makes you focus more on their words in comparison to just watching them speak; it puts the viewer in that public yet private place, where they are receptible to listening to what these women, and all women, experience.
I think street harassment is an important topic to explore as it is such a common occurrence, which is problematic in itself, yet almost normalised and brushed off. It happens to almost every woman, the men involved objectify them, and it has many consequences to the way’s women live their lives.
Although artists and filmmakers such as Derek Jarman and Charlotte Prodger have been very influential in this project, it is the books I’ve read which have inspired me the most. Learning about the past of feminism and the subtle rejection of the movement throughout history, in works such as Faludi’s ‘Backlash’, has really opened my eyes and made me want to continue creating this work.
I find ‘Baby Girl’ to be powerful and it communicates my initial intentions; being the severity of the problem. Hearing all of these women’s experiences together, in one consecutive recording, proves how common these awful events of microaggression are.
I made the decision to place the viewer in the train, because I find this as a space, is quite paradoxical; its hugely public, yet also private; granting you the privacy of thinking and really getting inside your mind. Further, the mundaneness of the ordinary journey complements the seriousness yet vulnerability of the experiences we are listening to. Being on a train and looking out the window puts me in a very specific mental state. I am watching the outside world go by, yet I am not paying attention to the specific details. I am simply taking a passive view on the constant motion of the outside world. I find this is a place where I have minimal external distractions, thus being able to get lost in my thoughts.
This contemplative state is one which I thought would work well upon hearing the experiences that these women have gone through. I find it almost makes you focus more on their words in comparison to just watching them speak; it puts the viewer in that public yet private place, where they are receptible to listening to what these women, and all women, experience.