jennymckimm

[jennymckimm]

Screen printing as process:

To produce my poem I needed to Screenprint in the Dye workshop, in this I has the costume technician assisting me. I had to Iron the fabric to ensure it was flat, pick the correct colour for text, line up the text and then print. If given the opportunity to do this again I would as this is a very mechanical process that produces a strong result in my opinion.

[jennymckimm]

Self Evaluation Form 

[jennymckimm]

Steve Mcqueen and Buster Keaton

The British film-maker Steve McQueen has re-enacted a scene from Buster Keaton's 1927 movie “Steamboat Bill Jr” in his new film, “Deadpan”. Keaton’s legendary scene involves him standing in front of a wooden house, which then falls behind him. The end wall splits away from the structure and comes slamming down over Keaton, who remains miraculously untouched, oblivious to his near calamity.

McQueen in “Deadpan” re-enacts the gag. He simply stands there, legs apart, arms at his side, facing the camera. The end wall of the A-frame timber house comes down around his ears in a flurry. This has inspired my work regarding the hanging chair in my installation. An object that is in an unusual situation that will captivate the viewer, similar to the house in Buster Keaton’s famous scene.

Moreover, McQueen's films are frequently presented as installations, filling the end wall of the dark cube in which they are projected. In Deadpan this is incredibly significant, in that the audience feels as if they are going to be crushed, and there's no space to get away.

This was very good context to my chair and the idea of threat of destruction.

[jennymckimm]

Collage and Politics

Art and specifically collages have had a monumental impact in political movements and protests. Used as a form of communication, art is regularly used to relay the messages of movements. People remember images; art can be the symbol and people are likely to recognise political protests through it.

Because collage often incorporates mass-produced images, the practice is often inseparable from its historical and political context, making it a mode of powerful social commentary. Contemporary artists continue to explore the richness of collage in their efforts to question assumptions, biases, and pressing political crises. This has been the case in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Collage is also something that is accessible to anyone. There are no barriers to creating to collages and this makes it a powerful and significant form of protest; especially given how successful it is in cementing messages into social movements.

This is very relevant to my practice as its foundation is collage within my filmwork

[jennymckimm]

Dream English Kid, Mark Lecky

A visual demonstration of growing up British through found appropriated footage dating from the age of Leckys Birth to Present day.

[jennymckimm]

Northern Soul

According to its followers, Northern Soul was ‘real’ music. It was romanticised to be outside of the capitalist music business, or at least to have been rejected by it on the grounds of its lack of commercial appeal. The Northern Soul scene was predominantly working-class, although it did attract some more middle-class followers as it gained more media coverage. People used the music as a means to rebel against society and the upper classes. It was exclusive to the working class and this ownership gave them a collective sense of identity and freedom.

The music also had strong political roots also. The Northern Soul scene was a response to class oppression, it was also response to the north-south divide in England at the time. It found its equivalent in the racial oppression of black Americans several years previously, however its followers ignored the oppression of African-Americans as they interpreted the music for their own individual and class-based tastes.

[jennymckimm]

Leeks Silk Industry

One of the localised specialities in Staffordshire was the textile industry, namely prevalent in the town of Leek. The town had a reputation in the county for both silk-weaving and silk-dyeing.

The skills of the silk textile industry involved processing the raw material, and twisting it into a fine or strong thread. As with other manufacturing industries, workers would become very specialised in particular parts of a craft. However, when the industry was in demise, this meant that many workers struggled to find work and had to re-train into other industries as their skillset was specialist but narrow. The textile industry was one of the first to be affected during a depression. Customers cut down on their purchases, whether for basic necessities or luxuries. Many workers were working class and were left impoverished from the poor local economy.

This is now what frames Leek, empty Mills towering over the old workers homes.

[jennymckimm]

Mining Strikes of 1984

Between March 1984 and March 1985, more than half the country's 187,000 miners striked in what was the largest industrial dispute in post-war Britain. The mining unions sought to save the industry after the National Coal Board announced 20 pits in England would have to close with the loss of 20,000 jobs.

Striking was deemed illegal, therefore those who went on strike earned no money and were ineligible for benefits. Many were financially poor and they had to rely on scrimping, savings and handouts to get by.

Industrial action was ended on 3 March 1985. The NUM executive, running low on funds and with striking families struggling to feed, heat and clothe themselves, narrowly voted to end the strike. The defeated miners returned to work and the pit closures would go ahead. The UK’s last deep coal mine, Kellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire, shut in 2015.

[jennymckimm]

The Aesthetics of Working class culture and its appropriation.

The working class in the UK would traditionally have been populated with manual labourers. It is associated with those on low incomes and youths in that class usually did not attend higher education. With the decline of manufacturing in the UK, it is now considered that low-paid office workers are today’s equivalent to manual labourers of the past.

Accents in the UK are also used as a factor for social divide. Northern accents are historically seen as less desirable. They stereotype people as having a poorer background and can often be used as discrimination in preventing people from attaining higher-paying jobs. Meanwhile, southern accents are seen as more favourable and this depicts the north-south divide. Moreover, it demonstrates a class war between those in the working class and those above them socially and economically.

People in the upper classes also fetishize working-class culture. People can disrespect poorer demographics by choosing to experience their lifestyle for leisure. This includes using charity shops when this is something working class depend on as an affordable option. Artists glorifying poverty through the aesthetic of ruin without critique.

[jennymckimm]

Thatcherism

Thatcherism is named after Margaret Thatcher and refers to beliefs that were pioneered by the former Prime Minister. It represents a belief in free markets and a small state. It also believes that government control should be restricted to the essentials: defence of the realm and currency. Therefore, businesses have lots of control and the welfare state is less of a priority.

Her battle against inflation led to mass unemployment. Low taxation was a key area where Thatcherism was applied. Under the previous Labour government, there had been high levels of income tax for high-earners. Thatcher sought to help those benefitting from capitalism and thus progressively cut income tax - the basic rate of tax fell to 25%.

Thatcher introduced privatisation of state-owned industries, including British Telecom, British Gas, British Airways and electricity companies. Privatisation is still an area of debate with the current Conservative government accused of seeking to privatise the NHS.

In alot of ways, the political climate of UK today is because of Thatcherism therefore it is essential for adding context to my practice.

[jennymckimm]

GB news and the growing right wing England in media

GB News is the largest right-of-centre news channel to launch in over three decades. Critics of the channel claim this is the beginning of Fox News-style coverage in the UK. Segments on the 24-hour news channel include Wokewatch and Free Speech Nation.

Adam Baxter, director of standards and audience protection at the regulator Ofcom, has said the channel offers an “unapologetically partisan” style of broadcasting. Angelos Frangopoulos is the CEO of GB News. Mr Frangopoulos in February spoke of “adding plurality to UK media” and aimed “to serve British communities who feel poorly represented by mainstream television media, especially outside London”.

GB News is evidence of the tabloidisation of UK news outlets. This has already happened in the US, and with newspapers such as the Sun and new channels like GB News, the UK news market will become increasingly polarised. This will lead to greater social divide and political partisanship will only increase as a result. I believe this was integral to research as it is much of what I critique about United Kingdom in my work.

[jennymckimm]

TV Show: Its a Sin

It’s a Sin is a British television show which aired on Channel 4 in early 2021. It follows the highs and lows of a group of homosexual men and their friends living in London during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. Homophobia was rampant in the British press and heavily criticised by society during the 1980s. This links to my research as it explores the political climate of the 1980s in UK and how a lot of the themes of protest continue in current day. 

Many viewers have drawn parallels to the 1980s and how transgender people have been treated in recent years. “Looking through some of the headlines in the U.K. in the 1980s, about the ‘gay plague’ and ‘gay cancer,’ and the way that gay people were reported on is so shocking to me,” says Olly Alexander, who plays Ritchie in the show.

During the series, the AIDS crisis grows in significance. The illness is mysterious, and the sense of stigma and shame associated with it runs deep. The show depicts a time in the UK where there is great social divide, along with economical hardship.

The show has also been credited for sharing more of the British experience of the AIDS crisis, while depicting the reality and complexity of queer lives. Moreover it explores issues of sexuality, race and liberal ideas and how they are received with discrimination in United Kingdom especially in small towns where suppression of identity is often a way of surviving. Something I believe is still the case as Cities often have more of a liberal political climate.

[jennymckimm]

Ruin porn and why its problematic

Ruins photography focuses on the decline of the urban or built environment. The urban decay of the post-industrial world is romanticised in this style of photography, beauty is found in the history of industries and businesses that cease to exist. Popular subjects include abandoned housing, bridges, derelict factories, and old offices.

Critics compare ruins photography to exploitation. People against the style believe it glosses over the reality of hardship and poverty in some areas, ignoring the social struggle of the local demographic. With my research being on northern cities and towns, it is likely that the north’s old industrial history has been exploited for the purposes of ruins photography. There is also criticism that this photography often refuses to include the people that live in or nearby the ruins photographed. On the contrary, one positive of ruins photography is that it creates tourism for an area.

https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/what-ruin-porn-tells-us-about-ruins-and-porn/index.html

[jennymckimm]

A recent Office for National Statistics report identifies northern England as having the highest share of jobs in “at risk” sectors, as a combined result of Brexit and the legacies of the pandemic. Not only is there a divide economically, but there is one socially too. Boris Johnson’s approach to lockdown’s is simple: when case numbers are high in the north but low in London, the capital enjoys freedom while the north is put under tougher rules. However, if London has high numbers the whole country is likely to be put under restrictions.

Liverpool and Manchester were hit the hardest in the early stages of the pandemic. With both suffering harsh restrictions for having a high number of cases, however London was treated with more leniency.

London’s economy is the powerhouse of the UK and it has been given special status during the pandemic. Its industries are also adaptable to the work-at-home rules and the effect on northern cities has been far more severe. The pandemic is proof of a north-south divide.

[jennymckimm]

How the North became a powerhouse for industry, then collapse during the Thatcher era

Shipbuilding, steel, mining, and textiles were all pivotal industries that defined the strength of northern industry prior to Thatcher. Although Thatcherism accelerated their decline, regional inequalities resulted in the development of financial systems, and therefore the concentration of economic power in London. Subsequently, Conservative and Labour governments have tried to reduce the north-south divide through territorial planning strategies (providing amenities and infrastructure, encouraging business, urban renewal, etc.) and economic measures (tax incentives, local provision policies, etc.). The North–South divide truly became a political issue in the 1980s, Margaret Thatcher’s economic policies were the cause of this. Rising unemployment in old industrial regions and failing economy led to a new age of poverty on the UK, one that was centred in the north of England. Because of the economic and political geography of England, decisions to close factories in the North came from the South. Therefore, this only increased tensions between the two regions.

[jennymckimm]

Marcus Rashford free school meals vs. Thatcher In 1980, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government ended the provision of universal free milk. Moreover, a new Education Act was introduced which halted the minimum nutrition requirement for school meals. Ensuring food for children on income support was still provided, however these were changes that were incredibly harsh on children who may only have had a school meal during their day. Furthermore, Thatcher encouraged the privatisation of the school meals services. The Competitive Tendering Act allowed private companies to bid to provide school meals. These changes, without adequate measures to ensure minimum standards of nutrition, resulted in meals that were cheap rather than nutritious. Marcus Rashford has been a modern-day hero in the fight for good quality school meals. He helped prevent the withdrawal of school meals to low -income families during the school holidays. He is also calling for a full review into the school meals system. I felt this research was necessary as it highlights the ongoing class divide in the UK. Conservative governments continue to try to make school meals as cheap to operate as possible and this is incredibly prejudiced against children who rely on school meals. Rashford said he was optimistic the government would recognise the need to change the free school meals system. “I think once they do review it they’re going to see for themselves, and the more they have closer contact to the people that they are helping, I think the more likely they are to make change…” He added: “I believe that if the government had the information that I have, and they spoke to the people that I have spoken to, from all different areas of the country, they would want to review it and change it themselves.” 

[jennymckimm]

Corbin Shaw

Understanding English Patriotism and St George’s flag being symbolic of toxic masculinity in British Culture.

(The English Dream by Corbin Shaw)

(Images taken while walking during the European cup)

Saint George’s flag, the English flag. Why does this symbol carry so much controversy behind it?

My research begins with the appropriation of this symbol with British Neo-Nazis, EDL, Purists and lastly football hooligans.

In Wired’s article “The hidden danger of the UK’s flag obsession” an interesting finding was made:

“But symbols are powerful, and psychological research suggests that the increasing use of the national flag could actually have a damaging impact on social cohesion. “Flags are tricky,” Kemmelmeier says. “If you allude to a collective and say, ‘This is us,’ there’s always somebody that’s not included.”Decades of research has demonstrated that simply assigning a symbol, such as a flag, to an arbitrary group can cause a hardening of attitudes. A study published in 2016 by social psychologists Shannon Callahan and Alison Ledgerwood found that people perceived others as less warm and more threatening if the group was assigned a flag. “A consistent picture emerges,” writes David Smith, a psychology lecturer from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. “Flags bond insiders but make outsiders feel unwelcome.”

Essentially when a symbol is used for a group, it has the risk to create division. In the Uks context, the English Flag is a symbol of British pride, however what does ‘being English’ mean? Adopted by the far right, it creates an ideal England that defines being English with a fixed criteria.

In this debate on the right wing morning show ‘Good Morning Britain’ Dr. kehinde Andrews, professor of black studies at Birmingham University discusses that this flag from his experience as a POC and research is a deterrent, a sign of danger and exclusivity.