As this zine is run by two women, every March Issue to coincide with International Women's Day we exhibit work that celebrates, questions, and commemorates the history of women. The work chosen looks at the impact women have in the world and to raise awareness of issues , International Women's Day was established to commemorate the movement for women's rights and we want to celebrate women.
If we are moving toward a society where gender is not determined by one’s sex organs and there are fewer and fewer boundaries on the way that women can work, have families, or live their lives in general, we must ask a crucial question: What does it mean to be a woman? What unites us? What divides us?
We sought work that answers or critiques these questions - made by all genders and across any media - be it sculpture, print, painting, drawing, text or digital - and chose work that was creative and expanded the topic.
Artist: Barbara Hulme
Media: Watercolour
Instagram: barbarahulme@talktalk.net
Description: This piece is to show we are still women even if we lose part of our sexual features, we do not lose our sexuality and desirability. We still retain beauty and can be viewed as such through the eyes of the artist and thus reflected back to ourselves
Artist: Tara Keegan
Media: Soft Sculpture, recycled textiles, found objects and materials
Instagram: @keegan6402
Description: MENODOLLS 13 is a visual manifesto of being a woman explored through the Femina project a reflection of my lived experience during early onset medical menopause.
I describe this socially disruptive energy as a collection of physical and psychological symptoms that metamorphosis into a series of headless visceral de-sexed abstract doll bodies.
Menodolls explore the inner dynamo that has ceased to function which has disturbed my identity, femininity and sexuality and records the changing state of the female body where culture partly determines which sensations we interpret as symptoms and where biology affects self-identity.
Artist: Olasumbo Wright
Media: Acrylic on Canvas
Instagram: @labakesart
Description: "Demilade (Her Crown)" serves as a powerful tribute to the essence of the African woman embracing her authentic self. My journey and struggle with conforming to societal beauty standards are intricately woven into the narrative of this portrait. "Demilade" symbolizes a triumphant departure from those conventions, with the figure in the painting radiating resilience and self-acceptance, it is a testament to the reclaiming of my personal narrative and an homage to the inherent beauty found in embracing one's roots and unique characteristics.
Artist: Rochelle Shicoff
Media: Acrylic paint
Instagram: @rochelleshicoff
Description: This painting series titled Life Of A Pure Spirit was inspired by my negative reactions to the spoken phrase towards women, “you’re an angel.” The images are bold and the depicted women are looking directly at the viewer. These are my actual, in life stances, my answer to the sexist reactions I have experienced many times in my life.
Artist: Natalia Millman
Instagram: @nataliamillmanart
Description: This work represents the challenges of womanhood and motherhood, the fragmentation of identity associated with giving birth vs not bearing a child. Can this take place despite not having a child. You are not who you used to be and on physiological level the brain undergoes changes. What is the difference between a mother and a woman?
Artist: Fred Fabre
Media: Oil
Instagram: @drawlogia
Description: Lady Macbeth- oil 90 x 110 cm -In this painting I am revisiting the Shakespeare play with the conscious decision to glorify the communally wrongful and immoral perceptions of the female protagonists. The work is intended to empower women to access their anger, desire for attention, bodily autonomy, and more to destroy the patriarchy.
Artist: Kate Philbin // Media: Coloured pencil on tracing paper, digitally overlaid
Instagram: @katephilbinart
Description: “Old me, new me” was created after I rediscovered photographic self portraits from 2012 and decided to recreate them in 2024 with a view to invoking a relationship between the older and younger versions of myself to explore femininity, ageing and beauty standards. The work was created as part of my final project for an MA in illustration after making a career change in mid life, and finally getting the opportunity to study art. As a middle aged woman from a working class background, however, I am now anxiously entering a field where opportunities for the older, “New me” are sadly getting worse, not better. https://es.britsoc.co.uk/prospects-for-working-class-creatives-no-better-or-worse-today-than-in-1960s-says-research/#:~:text=They%20found%20that%2016%25%20of,the%20earliest%20and%20latest%20cohorts
Artist: Luyin Cao
Instagram: @luyincao
Description: In crafting this piece, I drew upon a reservoir of symbolic imagery that has been percolating in my psyche: the paradox of a paper-made snare, the rawness of exposed vulnerabilities. By integrating representations of tongues and teeth with the organic forms of vaginas, all constructed from the seemingly fragile yet resilient medium of cardboard, I endeavour to mirror the complexity of women's roles as both nurturers and warriors. These motifs, steeped in societal archetypes, coalesce into a vortex of perplexity, mirroring the often conflicting expectations placed upon women. The artwork thus becomes a contemplative space for dissecting and understanding the layered implications of these stereotypes.
Artist: Lauren Towner
Media: Mixed media; acrylic paint markers and pencils
Instagram: @ltownerillustrates
Description: This is me, a couple of days after my son was born; emotionally raw, dog tired, still healing. As a first time mother, I'm getting the hang of breastfeeding but I'm also working on my small business on my smartphone. Breeding as a 'good woman' should, but still being a productive member of society, not being 'a burden'. This is the reality of the concept of 'having it all' and yet society is fickle and often can't make up its mind whether to applaud or condemn scenes like this.
Artist: Roberta Weissman Nagy
Media: Sculpture in metal
Instagram: @artzeit
Description: My work, Work shoes are made of hard steel material, by electro-welding. They are life size replicas of my work shoes. We call them lounges. Because that's how they have to be. The inside of my metal, rigid, dangerous and untouchable shoes are painted red, it's not blood, it's acrylic paint. My colleagues, who are not women, come to work in all kinds of shoes and no one comments on how professional they are. But me, my colleagues, yes. I react to the real strength and beauty of every woman who is painfully suppressed by social conventions.
Artist: Sabine Remy
Media: Analog collage
Instagram : @sabine.remy.collage
Description: Nymphs in mythology often embody the connection between women and nature, symbolizing beauty, fertility and the mysterious aspects of being female. Their role emphasizes the diversity of female attributes, from protective nature to independent freedom, and reflects cultural notions of femininity. As mythological figures, nymphs offer space for reflection on the different roles and powers that women can embody in society.
Artist: Mahtab Grimshaw
Media: Sculpture
Instagram: @mahtabgrimshaw
Description: Drawing on my experience hosting a women's talk show for Farsi-speaking media, I initiated the "Motherhood Without Filter" campaign, igniting discussions on the nuanced realities of motherhood within a patriarchal framework. This blend of personal and communal storytelling, shaped by experiences of censorship, immigration, isolation, and motherhood, including battling postnatal depression, informs my artistic exploration.
Artist: Charlea Taylor
Media: collage based cross stitch
Instagram: @charlea.taylor
Description: I am a third generation mothering artist working primarily in analog collage with vintage magazines & photographs, recycled textiles, and embroidery. My current work explores themes of sexuality and motherhood in the context of leaving fundamentalist Christianity. These works deconstruct forced ideals, conformity, religious trauma, and sexual repression. I find myself in this tension of what is a woman and what are those roles as an ex evangelical, queer person, and a mother. M identity as a woman is always fluctuating especially because I am breastfeeding. My body not only sustained my child while he was growing in my womb, but it sustains him now with my mother's milk.
Artist: Obada Alomari
Media: Textile, mannequin then digital
Instagram: @obada_omari
Description: In her memory : a wake up call. This work stands as a powerful memorial to a young girl tragically shot five times by a relentless stalker. It serves as a stark reminder that if we do not address and combat crimes against women with the utmost seriousness, such heart-wrenching incidents will persist. Through art, I aim to provoke viewers, igniting awareness and action to protect the safety and rights of women everywhere.
Artist: Kim Thornton
Media: Photography: Archival pigment print
Instagram: @kimthornt
Description: The Colossus is a tribute to motherhood and the protective role that mothers perform. It reflects on the intersection of domesticity with the instinct to defend one’s family. The long green apron is fashioned from green scouring pads and was made to symbolise the scale of day-to-day tasks regularly carried out by mothers but also to keep harm at bay.
Artist: Hunter Chaus
Media: Photography
Instagram: @h.chaus.photo
Description: A self portrait series created following the traumatic experience of sexual violence. Inspired by Goya’s and Caravaggio’s work, these photos aim to explore the fracturing of identity following the artist’s traumatic incident as well as the deep-seated anger and agony of being a woman and the animalistic reclamation of power.
Artist: Judith Bach
Media: Photography
Instagram: @judithbach
Description: Acerbumdulce (Latin: bittersweet) is an ongoing series of self-portraits started in 2023 as I approached my 70th birthday. Youth and beauty fade, old age envelops the wearer with a cloak of invisibility. The images are intended to shrug off my own shrouds and challenge the perceptions of how a septuagenarian woman is perceived.
Artist: Suzie Silk
Media: Photography and Cyanotype Print
Instagram: @suziesilk1
Description: 'Animal' is a series of photographs that looks at derogatory language used against women to belittle and reduce us, and reclaims the words through satirical observations. The series of self portraits creates narratives around the words, bird and vixen. It asks us to consider the power of words as a form of control. The work is made in between motherhood, home educating 2 children and a part time job. With time being a precious commodity, Silk uses her home as the backdrop to the images.
Artist: Gary Willis
Instagram: @garywillis.snaps
Description: Celebrating Nicky, for fighting Invasive Lobular Cancer / Triple Negative Breast Cancer / Grade 2, having her life dragged upside down, and feeling your body crumble to extreme treatments and medication. To generate awareness of an invisible killer, to push people to check themselves as this cancer roulette gets 1 in 5 over 50. For taking the courage in allowing me to photograph you while still vulnerable, thank you Nicky.
Artist: Xize Xu
Instagram: @xizexu.work
Description: Composed of a chair made from supermarket shelves and a set of orange sculptures that embody the human form - a woman's breasts and pregnant belly - this work symbolizes the commodification of women's bodies, as natural and commonplace as sitting in a chair while oranges are placed on shelves. This visual metaphor subtly uncovers the exploitation of the female body in commercial environments, highlighting the overlooked bodily autonomy of women in the process of their bodies' commodification and objectification. The piece aims to provoke deep reflection on surrogacy and the impact of commercialization on bodily autonomy and ethical values.
Artist: Monique Martin
Instagram: @moniquesart
Description
“The silencing of women is so loud”, ink on mulberry paper. silkscreen/monoprint. 20 metres in length
The vacuum of silence exists in the moments when you are too busy, when you are trapped in it, making it impossible to be heard. The voice inside our heads is the only one loud enough, but we are unable to respond. Silence pervades within a power struggle with self and self-worth. Women have learned to labour and to wait their turn in the long fade of time. Time passes at the same rate for men and women, 60 minutes to an hour, 24 hours in a day. Social change doesn’t move at the same pace for everyone. For some the movement and the movie is silent. When women are undervalued the currency of the collective is in jeopardy. Women must not live an individualistic life if they want to be heard, it is in collective numbers that there is a voice. The silt of tomorrow is created from the behaviours of today. When society silences you, it becomes internalized. You begin to internalize it and accept it because everything sinks into the heart. The continuous sounds of women’s silence is deafening. Each word spoken or not spoken has a weight, a volume that invades a space in the heart and mind. Women are silenced by men, by society, by other women and by the voices inside their heads.
Artist: Sally Spinks
Media: textiles
Instagram: @sallyspinks.art
Description: "Wreck of the Beautiful" is a work of two pieces that show neural brain images. On the left is an image of a normal brain pre menopause and on the right, an image of a woman's brain scan during the menopause. The normal scan shows in bright colours lots of activity but on the left, the black areas indicate little or no activity. No wonder they call it brain fog. The process of making this work helped me through the menopause - needlepunch is a process that involves stabbing material over and over again, thousands of times, to create the image.
Artist: Erphaneh Sadeghzadeh
Instagram: @erphanehs
Description: I am Erphaneh Sadeghzadeh, originally from Iran and I live in Germany. I am studying for a Master's degree at Bauhaus-universität, as an Iranian woman who struggled with mandatory Hijab and lived under a totalitarian regime. I encountered a lost identity crisis. I figured out it is a general feeling for Iranian women. we all had a picture of ourselves with a Hijab and without a Hijab, which makes us have two personas. I worked on passport photos of some of my Iranian friends and it appears that we have lived with two faces without our immigration.
Artist: Gillian M Brett
Media: Sculpture
Instagram: @gillian.brett
Description: This is a modern interpretation of Rodin’s iconic ‘Thinker’ which I have titled ‘Attitude’
Artist: Nina Ijomone
Media: Photography
Instagram: @ninaijomone.studio
Description: “Her Body, 2021”. Photography allows me to express my dilemma as a woman in a society that celebrates feminism very much. In my work, I wanted to express my concern for women, their bodies, their diversity, origin, religion and personal experiences, emphasizing the benefits of being a woman, which we often forget when fighting for rights and equality in the male world.
Artist: Louisa Pankhurst Johnson
Instagram: @louisa_pankhurst_johnson_art
Description: My Great Great Great Aunt was Emmeline Pankhurst. "My mums, mums dad was her brother & he kept all the monies raised under his bed for safekeeping for the suffrage movement" I have created mixed medias comprising of items from the Women's Suffragette Movement including a letter written in Holloway prison, highlighting the suffrage that many women tirelessly, selflessly & putting themselves through peril for future generations and our human rights and equality. What is more uncommonly known is that after winning 'The Vote for Women' the Suffragettes were not permitted to return to University and study as they now had criminal records. Many of the Suffragettes suffered greatly with being imprisoned especially the last time; Emmeline was imprisoned for nine months and her health was in great decline she was not alone after winning the vote; Therefore I think it is imperative we all are aware of the great sacrifice these heroic men & women made & that all women pursue "following their dreams".
Artist: Ziyi Wang
Media: Wood, Textiles
Instagram: @ziyiwang_zii
Description: My piece delves into how spaces shape rituals and behaviours, highlighting the impact on domestic structures through a feminist lens. Employing textiles and installations, it captures the essence of female experiences within various rooms using techniques like cutting, layering, and 3D shaping. This intricate process creates engaging 'memories' of spaces, reflecting on domestic drama and personal introspection.
Artist: Maja Spasova
Instagram: @art.majaspasova
Description: LIPSTICK CRUCIFIXION, 2007
Video performance, 2' 39"
Beauty queen - clown - martyr.
The red in the red thread through the life journey of the woman.
Concept, camera, actor: Maja Spasova.
Editing and postproduction: TITANFILM, Berlin.
Copyright: Maja Spasova, 2007.
All rights reserved.