The Workhouse Images
‘Jacket Women ‘ were the unmarried mothers at Gressenhall Workhouse, made to wear an identifying garment to denote their inferior moral status. These prints and installations have been created in response to research into workshouses and explore issues around poverty, domestic abuse, difference scapegoating and the way in which people are categorised or processed within institutions.
‘On the Ropes’ refers to the practise in some Victorian Workhouses and ‘Dosshouses’ where casuals or tramps would sleep hanging over a rope , hence the term ‘hangover’ . These pieces are part of an ongoing body of work which explore the ways in which people traumatic or transgressional events and experiences through personal narratives and collective stories.