Arts Thread

Womens work group show In the beginning of our research, we visited existing artworks and memorials of WW1 across London. As a group of six young women, we felt it significant and were drawn to the only female statue in parliament square, the memorial of Millicent Fawcett. We discovered rocks in the flowerbeds surrounding the statue, these hidden messages were an echo and representation of those thrown at parliamentary buildings during the suffragette movement often inscribed with messages of their demands. The rocks we found today read ‘WPIYPO’ or ‘we paid in you paid out’ messaging of the Waspi campaign (Women against state pension inequality). Our findings of the rocks spurred our interest into hidden messages, women roles in WW1 and the suffragette movement. The Imperial War Museum of London gave further insight and informed us of the significance of flags in messaging in WW1 as well as morse code. As women, we felt united by the word ‘Revolutionary’ and our feelings of sadness, empowerment and pride when faced with the reality of female representation during WW1. We created a large-scale flag held with a series of rocks. The flag and rocks had hidden messages. The flag, in morse code, read ‘Women's work’, ‘Deeds not words’. The rocks were collected from the Thames shoreline in Westminster and inscribed with messages of the suffragette movement and were hidden in and around the Chelsea College of Arts Parade ground.