Alison Whitmore Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom

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I am a Nottinghamshire artist currently working with textiles and embroidery to pay tribute to women lost to femicide as well as exploring thoughts and experiences of domestic and sexual violence, and misogyny.

Considering femicide, domestic and sexual violence and misogyny generally is a difficult space to be in mentally. This said it is imperative those with a voice speak out to help raise awareness of these issues, remember women who have suffered and been killed and work towards ending these crimes. Working with embroidery on household textiles creates a space to speak about murder, violence and mental suffering in such a way that the viewer is drawn in unsuspectingly, and there amongst the stitches be confronted by reality.

Past work explores the multitude of detritus we leave behind. Humans adorn their homes and surroundings with a variety of objects which, at that moment seem useful or aesthetically pleasing. Objects are useful until they are superseded or broken, and aesthetic until the next style trend dictates that they have lost their appeal. I explore the mass of the left behind, discarded, or lost objects as being essential ingredients in a new story, creating new objects and environments; coloured plastics set in resin, vignettes, mini installations and curiosity boxes.

Combining these leftovers with personal treasures elevates their status to ‘valuable’ artefacts, appropriating the visual language of archaeological or ethnographic pieces, religious pieces, reliquary or contemporary consumer products. Elevating the objects explores the relationships between the real and the fake, the valuable and the valueless. In doing this I examine aspects of human experience; life, love and death, and the pressure we exert on the environment. By contemplating what signifies value, I aim to challenge societal notions of monetary worth and discover genuine substance. This investigation leads me to analyse my relationship with my own 'valued' possessions.