‘We are coming as comrades, friends, warriors to a state worthy of us, not to dolldom.’ - Marion Coates-Hansen

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The Warriors unfolds overlooked narratives of twenty women’s lives in early Middlesbrough through archival research of trade directories and census/parish records, in order to question:

How did women contribute to the town’s development through trade/science/art?
What did their geographic and cultural origins bring to the town?

Why are they not commemorated in the townscape?

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The Warriors reworks the keystone heads from the town’s former Royal Exchange building, now exiled ‘on spikes’ at ground level in Exchange Square. Here they become a collage army of women workers with stories to tell of their central place in Middlesbrough’s history.

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Are they ancestral portraits, wanted posters or plans for future selves?

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Annie O’Donnell researches identity, belonging and displacement through her sculptural practice. The Warriors continues the tradition of collage as a strategy for cultural critique, by highlighting women’s work experiences over time.

 

O’Donnell is represented by Platform A Gallery on Middlesbrough Railway Station’s Platform 1 and has a MFA and Ph.D from Newcastle University.

https://www.instagram.com/annie_odonnell_/ 

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Download a free Collage pack to create your own Warrior here