grim2022
2023
2026
An ongoing creative project exploring femininity and Northern-ness through poetry, visual art, and clubbing.
This project began as a collection of writing I created, reflecting on how my Northern identity intersects with my understanding of gender:
“I know what it means to be a woman round here.
How to have broad shoulders and wide hips and bared teeth if needs must.
How to bite my nails to the bed and run in platforms between potholes and climb up a children's playground frame at 2am in a mini skirt to watch the stars with her.
I know how to not feel the cold when it cuts between my ribs, bare midriff blueish and goosepimpled but
"nah nah, I divin't need a coat, I'm fine, man"
The project developed into a performance text for four voices, excerpt to left.
I began experimenting with performance texts as a visual artform, trying to format the text to look like how it sounded in my head.
I collaborated with performers: Tabitha Dearie, Hope Kennedy, and Gemma Kinley to create a scratch perform for Into the New 2023 at Tramway.
As we explored the text, I encouraged performers to translate the words into their own dialect and accent, and a small community formed, discussing how the growing up in grim places forges hyper-femininity, like bright lights in dark rooms.
Incoming.
