Pillow Talk Statements
Helen Adie southlondonwomenartists.co.uk/helen-adie
My pillow is inspired by Shakespearian actresses Ellen Terry and Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, immortalised in paintings by Sergeant and Sickert. Ellen wears a magnificent beetle-wing dress as Lady Macbeth, while Gwen looks like a cathedral as Queen Isabella. An actress can live many lives, transforming herself into a mistress, demon or heroine. The dress in my design will evoke a vast landscape of the mind, of hidden thoughts and snatches of poetry.
I am an actress, artist and poet, performing with fellow Rye Poets, Joan Byrne and Pia Goddard.
Andrea Blair andreablairart.co.uk
“Thou shalt have a fishy … is a conversation with my mother who inspired my craft skills and creativity. She grew up in Blyth, Northumberland where her father was the coxswain of the lifeboat. Once a thriving dock - the shipbuilding, coalmining and fishing have gone. The images are symbolic of an empty place; we are re-imagining our relationship since my father died last year. This year Blyth will host the Tall Ships Race … when the boat comes in.”
Juliet Blake thegardenpainter.com
Sally and her friends set up Family Planning Association Clinics in Essex towns during the sixties. At the time only married women were allowed contraceptive provision with the written permission of their husbands or vicar in the case of women who were soon to be married. At the clinics run by this group of women, all women were offered sexual health advice and regular smears. Male permissions were faked. Informal libraries of feminist literature and sexual education were in the waiting areas.
Jackie Brown southlondonwomenartists.co.uk/jackie-brown
Each night I would perform a ritual of spreading my hair evenly across my pillow, reaching the edge and over the sides. Once the hair was arranged I could immerse myself into sleep and dreams and plot my escape into the future. The pillow cradled my thoughts and kept my secrets;
Give me your nether lips
all puffy with their art
and I will give you angel fire in return Extract, Rapunzel by Anne Saxton
Lisa Brown sketchpad
statement needed
Melissa Budasz melissabudasz.co.uk
Pillow title: Peekaboo
Georgia O’Keefe said, ‘making your unknown, known is the important thing’. The image on my printed velvet pillow has been selected from my Peekaboo series of mixed media drawings on paper where I observe and draw my own body: close-up, intimate and emerging from darkness to light and to freedom and liberation. They are meant to tease, subvert and celebrate the female form. Large in scale, the imagery takes on a new perspective as a language of body and landscape and gender and representation.
Joan Byrne joanbyrne.co.uk
The Peckham woman of newspaper headlines is deviant. I live and photograph in Peckham and can confirm that it is a robust area. But why point out that these troubled women come from Peckham? If they lived in Penge would that be highlighted? Then again, we don’t mind as we have a reputation to support.
In addition to being a documentary photographer, I am a poet and member of the Rye Poets, with Helen Adie and Pia Goddard.
Ilinca Cantacuzino ilinca.co.uk
Pillow Talk is the intimate talk between two people after sex. It usually contains an element of disclosure.
My interest is in subverting this: the intimate talk here is between a mother and daughter. The letters and diaries of a destructive relationship have been ritually burnt, their residue ground into the pillow and the heartbreak stitched ’out’. The first white hairs exist, seem preserved as relics but are the first tentative steps towards a new wisdom, a new life.
Francesca Centioni francescacentioni.com
As a starting point I often search through boxes stored in my studio. Old photographs, notebooks, remnants of textiles and scraps of paper become emotive objects. My pillow is inspired by female voices ranging from my mother, best friend, Maya Angelou and Kiki Smith. The embroidered fragments represent shared dialogue deep rooted within the woodland. Each word stitched depicting strength co-existing in a landscape of wanderlust, transience and the passage of time.
Bula Chakravarty Agbo bulacagbo.wordpress.com
Generations come and generations go, but the struggles of the human psyche remains until a truce is settled between the world and the soul. Transcendence occurs when her creativity dances from the very edge of chaos… In touch with her divinity, she is potent, strong, instinctual, wise, fearless and wild. She seeks beyond the myths and legends. My work strives to realize the interconnectedness of these different elements triggered by a chance meeting with silence. As women, we all run with wolves…
Women Who Run with the Wolves by Dr Estés.
Liz Charsley-Jory lizcharsley-jory.com
This pillow is an extension of my series, Manufactured Meadows, an investigation of the forms of ordinary wayside plants that proliferate in inhospitable urban environments, and in parks and gardens where they are usually not wanted. Referencing the blue of the cyanotypes that preceded them, my plant drawings allude to the tradition of female botanical art, made before women were allowed to address the higher-ranking genre of history painting.
Artists that have inspired me: Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), Elizabeth Blackwell (1707-1758).
Historical note: both women supported themselves and their families with their art, and produced groundbreaking reference books.
Claudia Iuliana Ciofu artcice.wix.com/cice
Pillow title: Madonna
An icon found in Mexico City, dated 1531, inspires my pillow. According to witnesses, the painting appeared on Juan Diego's cloak, without any mechanical intervention. Although controversial, the icon is still the subject of scientific research, after another miniature portrait was discovered in the Madonna's eye. As an archetype and symbol of Christianity, the portrait of Madonna in general represents the ideal features of womanhood in the last two thousand years.
Anna Cocciadiferro cocciacostumier.co.uk
Pillow title: Cosset
Cosset. An appendage that represents my changing state in pregnancy. Reflective of the support, care and advice given by those women that surround me and the feeling of being cossetted positively.
Mesmerising sensations that drive attention inwards. Internal dictatorship on whims of taste and emotion; inner steering. The comedy and curiosity of purposeful expansion.
Pat Cove southlondonwomenartists.co.uk/pat-cove
Pillow title: Granny with the Green Hair
Constance Howard, CBE, was inspirational. She realized that embroidery was worth recognition at a time when textile crafts were regarded as of minor importance. She communicated her enthusiasm with such excitement that her lessons were a joy. She was a pioneer in the field of Textile Design and established an Embroidery department in the Art School at Goldsmith’s College. Before the era of punk, she dyed her hair green and kept it that way the rest of her life.
Leonie Cronin leoniecronin.com
Mona Hatoum’s glass blown shapes held in cages; the slumped, round fluid glass, set shiny red, and hard. The rigid hard wire cages with clean padlocks regimented into stacks and rows.
I interpret Womb, Heart, Blood. Containment of human expression.
My pillow seats that part of our body held in society by both shame and desire; that is covered, protected, filled or emptied, that leaks but must leave no mark, trace or trail.
Karin Dahlbacka karindahlbacka.blogspot.co.uk
My pillow is an attempt to create a friendship pattern. The pattern will be hand dyed with ink making its’ own surprise direction on the wet surface of the canvas. I like the idea of twisting, turning and dipping the pillow to create patterns. The pattern will connect my dreams and energy as well as remind me of my friend. My work is very much about finding our inner voice, sharing stories and celebrating creative freedom.
Liz Dalton lizdalton.co.uk
I made this image in order to provoke debate about breast-feeding in public spaces. Also remembering how empowering it was to decorate my bra for the Breast Cancer Moon Walk. Melanie Klein describes how the infant experiences the feeding breast as the nurturing ‘good’ breast. When the breast is taken away it becomes the withholding ‘bad’ breast. The growing child eventually comes to terms with ambivalence.
Claire Dorey southlondonwomenartists.co.uk/claire-dorey
I have been working on a body of work using the image of the horse to explore the human psyche, mainly with regards to suppression and freedom. The piece I’m submitting is called The Suppression of Dreams and is about negative internal dialogue and how we disown parts of our selves when we give into fear. Its dedicated to all women who have overcome their fears and found their inner strength through creativity
Gill Dove gilldove.com
Pillow title: Mary Anning (21 May 1799 - 9 March 1847)
I respond to the breath-taking but fragile beauty of our North Sea coast; reflecting dramatic environmental changes as sea breaches the coastline, causing erosion but revealing iron-age footprints, amber and fossils. Whispering from the past…Mary Anning, fossil collector and palaeontologist who became known around the world for her important discoveries, such as the first Ichthyosaur skeleton correctly identified, which contributed to important changes in scientific thinking about prehistoric life and the history of the Earth.
Robina Doxi doxi.org
My contribution is mainly a tribute to my mother, grandmother and the generations of women who came before them. They often worked together, weaving, sewing, mending and recycling, using their accumulated know-how and ingenuity, to craft strategies enabling them to survive - even thrive in unyielding circumstances. Some of those skills have been passed on to me, others I believe will be lost. However, I have also learned different ones, which will hopefully make for a blend of the old and the newly formed and one day be passed on.
Yolanta Gawlik yolantagawlik.com
Pillow Title: To Charlotte Bronte
Charlotte, thank you for writing 'Jane Eyre' and ‘Villette’. You taught me to pay attention to every moment, to count my blessings and to aim high - in myself, but also to go with the flow. You lived in difficult times for women. You fought and you were the only survivor. Your truth is felt strongly to this day, it has never diminished. I wish I could convey the depths of feelings so clearly and beautifully as you did.
Chantal Gillingham chantalgillingham.co.uk
A tribute to love and loss
A working drawing, a map, an indexical trace.
A separation.
Surface, line, inscription combine but hold uncertain positions.
Remembering and forgetting.
Beyond the moment of drawing and beyond the photographic, a space.
Ambiguous clarification, measure, exactness.
Closeness.
This tribute is inspired by the writings of Julia Kristeva and Susan Sontag
Pia Goddard utopia.co.uk
When Louise Bourgeois was asked 'why spiders?' she began her answer with ‘because my best friend was my mother … ‘. Ancient mother, weaver and guardian of alphabets, spiders pass knowledge down the generations. Louise Bourgeois was the first artist whose work informed my own, and now in later life as poet and photographer, mother and daughter, I am making my own claims on the spider.
I am a member of the Rye Poets with Joan Byrne and Helen Adie.
Julia de Greff juliadegreff.co.uk
My pillow is about tea, which I like. There is something normal and ordinary about it. As a child, I spent a lot of time in the home of the artists Rose Wylie and Roy Oxlade. They drank tea and had teacups that I was very fond of. Recently, I found a whole set of them in The Red Cross shop in Forest Hill. I drink tea out of them everyday and I love them.
Hayley Hare hayleyhare.com
‘Life is so much more exciting now than it used to be’
This piece is homage to the book The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which has been of great influence and inspiration in my work and personal relationship with depression. The Yellow Wallpaper is an illustration of the way a mind that is already plagued with anxiety can deteriorate and begin to prey on itself when it is forced into inactivity and kept from healthy work.
Jane Higginbottom janehigginbottom.co.uk
Pillow title: Anthropocene
Anthropocene - the proposed geological name for the era when human activity started to impact significantly on the Earth’s ecosystem.
Anthropocentrism - the belief that human beings are the central or most significant species on the planet. I have come across the English philosopher Mary Midgely and I would choose to read her book Gaia the Next Big Idea on this pillow.
Planet Blue - the new planet in the book The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson. This book is my original inspiration.
Margaret Higginson margarethigginson.com
Pillow title: Malala
My pillow symbolizes the fight of women against the campaign by religious groups to smother the voice of women. Malala Yousafzai, when only 15 years old, was shot by the Talaban in the Northwest Frontier of Pakistan because her family dared to believe and promote girls education. She was given the Nobel Prize laureate and continues to live for the right of women to speak.
Catherine Hollens catherinehollens.nailinthewall.com
Pillow title: Life Cycle
The feminist conceptual artist Mary Kelly famously exhibited her baby’s nappy liners as part of her installation Post-Partum Document. In this spirit, I have created ‘Life Cycle’, documenting the stages of my biological clock. Using pads instead of nappies, I explore issues around femininity and identity. I hope this piece will encourage other women to share their own thoughts and experiences.
Moira Jarvis moirajarvis.co.uk
Pillow title: Meander
Made during winter floods and using Helen Frankenthaler’s painting, often suggestive of weather and seasons, as a starting point, this work asks us to listen to the rhythms of the natural world. Walking along the ever-changing meanders of the River Cuckmere in Sussex, which have existed since the last ice age, these meanders seemed a perfect example of how nature absorbs storm water. This stitched and painted pillow considers rewilding the landscape by slowing floodwater and allowing rivers to follow their ancient paths.
Pat Keay patkeay.com
Pillow title: Kwa Ya Wanawake (Kiswahili for ‘For the Women’)
My design is informed by conversations, loving and argumentative, trivial and profound, with Kenyan women I know. Here, amongst millions of the ‘wanawake’, are some friends who are generating new ideas, challenging societal conventions and remaining strong under pressure.
Ngendo Mukii (animator)
Lulu Kitololo (designer)
Catherine Anyango (RCA lecturer)
Petronila Shikulisiei (carer)
Tabatha wa Thuku (artist and teacher)
The applied imagery being borrowed, original or traditional, this is my homage to the awe-inspiring sister-hood in Kenya.
Joan Kendall soulweaving.co.uk
My mother’s hard drive is full
No new memories are being laid down
And everyday more of the old ones fall away
Activities become ever more restricted
Often reduced to just sitting
Afternoon and evening the time of growing anxiety
To leave the room brings fear of abandonment
And so we sit, my mother in her world and I in mine
All travel now confined to the inner world
Accessed from the confines of our chairs.
Valerie Lambert southlondonwomenartists.co.uk/valerie-lambert
In December 2015, Maryam Namazie was prevented from speaking freely at Goldsmiths.
The event was filmed, and can be easily accessed via the Internet. Inspired by her determination to be heard, I have represented the human face reduced to a set of mathematical proportions. I made this image when teaching art to a culturally mixed group of children. I had been advised by administrators that realistic representations would be problematic. I have resolved to challenge such misled censorship in future.
Christine Landreth christinelandreth.co.uk
“I need to listen well so that I hear what is not said” Thuli Madonsela, South Africa’s 1st woman Public Protector. Pillowcases conceal what lies within. They are the surface articulation of internal stuffing. My interest in making my pillow has been the “challenge of articulating something beyond articulation” - borrowing an expression from visual artist, Karen Schiff. Traces, forgotten characters, the common place: binding layers of personal history through images on raw surface material.
Linda Litchfield lindalitchfield.co.uk
I have long admired the work of Angela Carter (1940-1992). Her writing reflects her personality – sharp, passionate, irreligious, exotic and demotic, raunchy, foul-mouthed, challenging. It is her short piece “The Company of Wolves” that is my favourite. In this “fairy story”, Granny is unceremoniously despatched by the “carnivore incarnate” and Red Riding Hood, it is suggested, might easily be as amoral and savage as the wolf and conquer him with her own predatory sexuality.
Wenchi Lucas wenchi.co.uk
I have a very strong memory of my Chinese grandmother's pillow and I want to explore the traditions of her era, and my lasting memories of her through her pillow and her night-time rituals and behaviour. How she would prepare for bed spending a long time dressing her hair before lying down. Plaiting it, tying it in a very specific way, not a hair out of place. I want to capture my feelings and memories of her in this artwork.
Yoke Matze yokematzephotography.co.uk
‘I cannot solve the problem of life by losing myself in the problem of art’ Tina Modotti
Modotti (1896) was an Italian born photographer and revolutionary activist in Mexico. She photographed Mexican women and revolutionary symbols. I am inspired by both her commitment to radical causes she showed in her life and the directness of its expression through her photographs. Photographs can evoke complex emotions and associations specific to a particular time and place.
Jennie Merrell jennifermerrell.com
This tiny carving was found in 1908 near the Austrian village of Willendorf. Was she a fertility Goddess or an erotic object? Hand sized and tactile with her large breasts and bottom, her rounded stomach and thighs. She is the opposite of our tall and slender idea of the perfect female body. Yet the average British woman is a short size 16. Over 25,000 years old, the Venus of Willendorf is the eternal everywoman.
Paola Minekov paolaminekov.com
What is pillow talk? There is a constant chatter in my mind. A monologue with myself. A pretend dialog with others. Words in a maze. Rearrange. Pause. Restart. Repeat. Ideas decorated in ribbons and feelings imprisoned in chains. In my mind I create thousands of plausible combinations, thousands of different outcomes, of the past and of the future. I may share them, or I may keep them to myself. I may invite you to play with them, too.
Carol Misch southlondonwomenartists.co.uk//carol-misch
I have always been inspired by the work of American artist Sarah Sze. Her work embraces the ephemeral minutiae in our lives, from domestic to work space, in large installations that are theatrical and always surprising and playful. I love the tension in her sculptures and the use of light and movement. There is a delicacy and leap of faith in the constructions that appeals to me, and that I find both unsettling and life affirming.
Laura Moreton Griffiths lauramoretongriffiths.com
Pillow Title: US M4 General Sherman Battle tank. 21st century owners include: Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Cameroon.
Out of the same fabric others have made beauty, a tank rides rough shod in this place of apparent safety. Unpicked and reworked, the blank canvas accepts impressions of truth reported back from the reality of war. ‘Do they not know that stability is like a lover with a sweet mouth on your body one second and the next you are a tremor lying on the floor covered in rubble and old currency waiting for its return.’ Warsan Shire
Emerald Mosley goldtop.org
Pillow title: Take one, leave one
My piece is an object made for people to interact with. An offering. Like moving along the bench so there is space for you to sit; a share of a sandwich; a role in my game; a hand to hold. Connection. A felt pillow with an envelope affixed to it. There is an idea on a card in the envelope. Please take it. Leave an idea of your own for another person to take. Take a photo of the idea card you have taken, and email it to pillowtalk.takeoneleaveone@gmail.com or tag it #PillowTalkTake1Leave1 on social media.
Karen Piddington karenpiddington.co.uk
Lee Miller is inspiring on many levels - her free spirit, creativity, talent and courage. Her path was controversial, imaginative and in many ways profoundly sad. But her legacy is astonishing. Her work highlighted the experiences and lives of women across Europe before, during and after the war. Her work mattered: she revealed to the world the worst horrors. Miller worked with Man Ray, mastering 'solarization' and creating some of the most radical nude photographs of the Surrealist era.
Marnie Pitts marniepitts.com
The words “Pillow Talk” immediately made me think of books. Lying in bed reading, getting lost in conjured worlds. I am interested in the collaboration between the writer and the reader, the power to pass on information and to be entertained by these words. The way we bring our own experiences together with the intentions of the author to make the reading of a book a truly powerful and enjoyable experience.
Gillian Best Powell gillianbestpowell.com
My work is a visit to the past, depicted as a flying dream I had to my childhood home. I grew up abroad far away in a house full of women: circumstances determined that those who remained as I grew into my own womanhood were my mother, grandmother, our family housekeeper (a second mother) and my sister. The dream was very real; recreating it as a story gives it permanence. I used my own practice of printmaking, using textile inks directly on the fabric.
Zoe Powell zoepowell.com
From a conversation - we can all find hope and light from the shadows, no matter where we are from or what we have experienced
As an artist who has travelled widely, I look to see how cultures and people differ. I connect to women mostly - through a smile, a shared interest or a heartbreaking story ... whether they are a friend or a stranger I've just met. Focusing on these connections, I have created a geometrical pattern using various techniques with waste materials. I believe that we should support each other; deep down we are all the same.
Jasmine Pradissitto pradissitto.com
“In each of us two powers preside, one male, one female… The androgynous mind is resonant and porous… naturally creative….undivided.” Virginia Woolf
Much like my world of science and art, it is the power of art with literature that can remove the divides between the feminine and masculine, old and young. My quotes are burnt into a cushion to reinforce this androgyny of machine process with soft furnishing; a paradox, which as physicist Neils Bohr once said ‘can now lead us to progress’.
Izzi Ramsay izziramsay.com
I never thought I was going to die because the truth is one never thinks that thought. It is a general universal truth that we are all living - though not a thought thought only a vague awareness in the unthought thought - of life without end. The idea is beyond grasp - until danger comes along. There are different degrees of danger. And women’s work has never been comfortable.
Vivienne Richards vivrichardsart.co.uk
My work is based around my love of the coast. I experiment with layers of mixed media, letting the materials dictate the final result. I recently discovered the work of Pat Steir, a New York artist, who experiments with oil paint. She says, ‘’It’s chance within limitations, I decide the colours and make simple divisions to the canvas & then basically the pouring of the paint paints the painting”.
Her beautiful paintings and the way she works is inspirational.
Daisy Shayler southlondonwomenartists.co.uk/daisy-shayler
The extremists are afraid of books and pens, the power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women
My inspiration for my pillow comes from 18 year-old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai. Having been shot in the head at 16 for protesting the Taliban’s treatment of women, Malala has become a renowned activist for female education and the youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate. I felt her message was extremely fitting with our collaboration with the Women’s Art Library, therefore I have used Malala’s story as the inspiration for my piece.
Mary Gordon-Smith marygordonsmith.co.uk
Mum is 94 and losing her memory.
This marmalade in a jar in a bowl with a spoon
on a tablecloth she embroidered herself
way back when girls embroidered
appeared at the breakfast table recently.
I saw it as a symbol of her life.
Unwavering standards, do things right,
make do and mend, never waste anything,
be good to everyone, pay your way,
don't make waves,
do your best.
I drew it, and now I'm embroidering it as best I can.
Lucy Soni southlondonwomenartists.co.uk//lucy-soni
I recently saw a documentary about the British artist Paule Vezelay. Despite the fact Vezelay was making abstract art before Ben Nicholson, she went largely unnoticed in the UK for most of her life. Instantly drawn to her charm, ideas and thoughts on line, her words resonated with some of my own ideas on being an artist.
“You’ve got to work hard at art to be an artist. It takes a long to time to control your hand and make your hand obey every thing you want in a line, a line is very extraordinary it can be dark or light or curved or straight it can be a lively line it can be a dull line but you’ve got to be able to control it with your hand and that takes years of practice I think” Paule Vezelay
Selena Steele theshadowedtale.com
I took four walks to Compton, marking the seasons of the year. Tracing the North Downs, by pilgrim footsteps to the chapel created by Mary Seaton Watts. Outside, terracotta burnished by the varying light at each arrival, with Celtic knots entwined and punctuated by Angels. Inside, story drenched walls in jewel hues, rich with the evidence of local hands in the making. Mary’s vision envelops the visitor, intense, mysterious and inspiring.
Chrissy Thirlaway chrissythirlaway.com
Pillow Title: Staring Out The Night
The honesty and courage in Edna St Vincent Millay’s poem What Lips inspires me to acknowledge my vulnerability at three in the morning.
Memory is romantic. I remember what I crave - passion, lust, obsession; moist full lips, tight smooth skin, rosy brown nipples, thick pubic hair; and then tenderness, affirmation, the illusion of certainty.
What was is dead. I let it go. The end rushes up. Death will be oblivion.
My heart still beats. I want to live forever.
Kim Thornton kimthornton.co.uk
Pillow Title: Notes to Self
Money is fundamental to everyday life and the pillow has long been a site of cash transactions for prostitution, hotel tipping and even the Tooth Fairy. The 2013 campaign for women to feature on British banknotes, led by Caroline Criado-Perez, highlighted how the establishment undervalues the contributions of women to history and to the present in all walks of life. Notes to Self is a banknote transformed to parody value.
Louise Townsend southlondonwomenartists.co.uk/louise-townsend
Pillow Title: Conversations with a Lens
Diane Arbus was a female photographer from the 1960s who first inspired me to pick up a camera whilst studying at university. I found her complex, yet simple ways of photographing people and finding beauty in their flaws very enduring and it fascinated me and still does today. I started looking at this medium myself and experimenting with street photography, especially people, those whom I myself find visually interesting and appealing. I have been applying this concept to my work ever since.
Eithne Twomey southlondonwomenartists.co.uk/eithne-twomey
I have been making a record of a place, painting fabric and lino patterns also painting numerous photographic images of that home. The patterns in particular speak of a certain time and conjure up the idea of home. It seems appropriate to put one of these patterns back onto fabric to become ‘soft’ again and live in the dome. I like the idea of a bit of my ‘home’ being part of this travelling project.
Caroline Underwood carolineunderwood.com
My pillow is inspired by Helen Sharman, who became the first Briton in space, after responding to a radio advertisement. A chemist in the chocolate industry, Helen was chosen from over 13,000 applicants following a rigorous selection process. Helen became an astronaut by putting herself forward for the opportunity, and then committed to an intensive training programme.
I wanted to celebrate this example of a woman who worked hard to make her dreams reality.
Kim Winter flextiles.wordpress.com
Like the portable Women’s Art Library, snails are nomadic, carrying their home wherever they go. And the spiral is traditionally a symbol of growth as we progress through life. Don’t be scared to sit on this pillow - your weight will help embed the spiral! Alternatively you can gently pull the tip of the spiral up from the centre to create a physical representation of your mind and imagination expanding by spending time in the library.
