The story of British industry is one that we tend to think of as belonging largely to men, but the work explored in this lecture can help us begin to change that. Many women artists have claimed labour as a source of inspiration, and just as importantly, “ordinary” women workers have long lived creatively, too. Focusing particularly on gendered and racialised depictions of the labouring body, this lecture will begin to consider the different ways these stories have been fashioned on their own terms.
To fully consider the legacies and realities of British industry is to find that women have not only been present, but have long been actively shaping and depicting it. Using work by artists such as Jo Spence, Monica Ross, Jasleen Kaur, the Amber Film and Photography Collective, and Helen Cammock, this lecture will explore the relationship between women and industry in British visual culture. It will provide a potted history of the relationship between labour and feminist art, whilst also introducing different ways of representing working-class women’s stories and the place of organised labour within them.
Bringing together giant swans, edible archives, ghosts, and fairy godmothers, this lecture will argue for the importance of fantasy, dream, and innovation to the story of gendered labour in Britain, and the way we represent it.
Working from the 1960s until the present day, each of the artists and individuals in this lecture has consciously explored the idiosyncratic relationship between working-class femininity and what it means to “fashion” oneself and one’s work. Many of these explorations stem from years of collaboration and innovative working practices, raising their own ethical questions and reminding us of the pressing issues still facing women in the workplace - and women in former industrial communities - today.
Many of these artists have also been particularly interested in the intersections between class, gender, and embodied material culture. By beginning to put their works into conversation - both with one another and with a whole host of other sources, from popular culture to archival research - those intersections can, for the first time, be fully explored.
From the Queens of Industry to the installations of Jasleen Kaur, working-class women have been “fashioning” in this way throughout modern British history, yet little record of such processes can be found within mainstream culture. This lecture aims to introduce its viewers to the fascinating and largely uncharted connections between gendered, classed, and racialised bodies, British industry, and making something new.

We are committed to making our sessions as accessible as possible. If you are unable to pay the full amount for this class, please reach out to us via email at [email protected] and we will provide you with a discount code.