Women Welders
public art
Women Welders is a photography series created for Charting Change, the public art programme I am leading for the University of Bristol, 2024 - 2026.
Women Welders is a series of portraits of East Bristol women over 60 who welded crowns and sculptures celebrating and acknowledging the hidden labour of women during a workshop I co-hosted with artist Jack Stiling and metalworkers Lottie Smith and Annie Chapter from WTF - Women Teaching Fabrication.
Garry Atterton from Barton Hill History Group introduced the workshop through sharing stories of women welders who worked locally at Lysaghts’ Ironworks during WWII, with a poem by resident Nic Colton about his mother Eunice, who was one such welder at 18 years old. We then created our own metal crowns as odes to a local industrial heritage activist; a seamstress mother on her journey from the Caribbean to England as part of the Windrush Generation; the hidden labour of volunteers; and family love.
The portraits are direct, unflinching, confident and playful - the group had bonded throughout the day, gaining confidence welding and plasma cutting, and were proud of their creations and the stories they told.
These photos will be featured on A0 poster frames installed in Barton Hill over Summer 2025.