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The Fair Woman – from conversation to object, an artistic response to the life of a female showman.
This body of work reflects a journey undertaken with female ‘Showman’ Louise Jennings, a woman who has lived and worked on Fairgrounds all her life. Her generous invitation enabled me to record her memories giving an insight into a community living in plain sight of us all, but one we know little about. I have interviewed this remarkable octogenarian, recorded her biography, and researched the social and historical context of her life over a two-year period. This narrative has informed the development of a palette of materials and symbols which enabled the development of the work you see here. The work is an artistic response, an assemblage of symbols and signs not a commentary. The essence of a story represented through objects, aimed to stimulate discourse, reflection, and interaction. My outcomes are, wearable pieces inspired by the more personal aspects of Lou’s story, and their display further expands the narrative that represents the wider notion of the fairground.
