‘Poppet’

Mixed Media, 2024

‘Poppet’ is a response to the longstanding narrative that women are still seen as adornments, a story that continues to oppress and objectify. As a woman, I’m profoundly weary of being cast as a passive ornament, especially when this portrayal intersects with violence so many women endure. At the time of making this work, yet another woman had been murdered by the hands of a male predator, and the public protest and vigil in her name was banned by the government.

The figures that adorn ‘Poppet’ are in death shrouds, a deliberate evocation of the historical reality where fear and misunderstanding of women led to witch hunts and death. As an ardent supporter of anti domestic violence movements, I’ve long felt that the dehumanisation of women victims mirrors a modern-day witch hunt. When women are attacked, questions are still asked: How much had she drunk? What was she wearing? What did she say? These are the same tired tropes that silence us and allow violence to persist.

The Reclaim the Night movement, is still an essential act of defiance. We should not still have to teach our daughters to edit their lives and themselves in response to male violence. Instead, it’s time for us to teach the few of our sons who don’t respect women—of our rights to autonomy, our dignity, and our right to exist freely without fear.