February Dark and Cold, 2019
Meeting Gemma, (not her real name)
Gemma is a very young woman - a girl when we first encounter her - 15 years old, being sold for sex on the street in Kings Cross, London. She is obviously in need of shelter on a night such as this. Hostels are unsafe for women - they often house some very violent men, many of whom are looking for vulnerable girls and women to exploit either to get alcohol, sell drugs or sex. The streets are unsafe, prison is unsafe. She is a very easy target for commercial sexual exploitation.
Meeting women@thewell
'Gemma' first met women@thewell (w@w,) when she was 15 and, at her request, they helped her return to her family, 'in a northern town.' In no time she was back on the street and this time with much more severe drug and alcohol problems. She was arrested numerous times and eventually got a prison sentence. That was when her problems really set in. She was in and out of that revolving door many times.
What is happening on the pot itself
As you turn round the pot, you'll see her at a table, drinking tea, talking with her main helper at w@w - a woman with a name. Both she and her counsellor are people with names that get to know each other - trust can grow. For the first time in her short life she is a real person, not just another girl being exploited on the streets of London. Not just a prison statistic or a police number. The second image shows Gemma being arrested when she got into a fight and then hit a police officer.
What is happening in Gemma's life
She talks about her son and eventually moves into a hostel to start the long process of moving forward to a different life. Anything can happen. Exiting isn't a straight line - not with the complex mix of interlocking problems as she now has including drug and alcohol addiction greatly exacerbated from her time in prison and living on the streets.
w@w is a women only service that provides vital support to women in prostitution and also helps them to exit. There are nowhere near enough
women only, safe spaces where girls and women like Gemma can recover.
Why is the pot broken?
The pot is smashed and rebuilt. It's a simple metaphor for trauma - the shattering experience of repeated and prolonged sexual abuse, and the extraordinarily demanding process of rebuilding not only your life but also your sense of self. It is a response to a phrase I have heard many survivors use: 'I was shattered. Now I am piecing myself slowly back together.
And the Door Opened, (2019-2022) was a partnership project with women@thewell, funded by Arts Council England
Women @the Well, (W@W,) is a women only service based in Kings Cross dedicated to supporting women whose lives are affected, or at risk of being affected, by prostitution. It also offers support to women wanting to exit prostitution.
And The Door Opened, was a series of events with displays of the pots that illustrated the lives of the women supported by W@W. The events included talks and pottery demonstrations.
The aim of the project was to enhance the public’s understanding of what prostitution is, to name the abuse and exploitation, and to show that, with the right support, girls and women do not need to live and die exploited in the sex trade – there are ways out.
I continue to show the pots from And the Door Opened, usually two or three of them alongside other work. This allows the conversation with the public to continue for as long as it is needed.
February Dark and Cold is on display at The Old Prison, Northleach, Gloucestershire, GL54 3JH, March 6th-8th, 2025, along with Street Exit and An Uncertain Pilgrim.