- Women who have not had the support network and promotion to be able to reach into and remain in the city of Oxford’s psyche.
- What is a city’s psyche, a national psyche, a societal psyche?
- Is there enough room to remember and appreciate more people?
- Who is responsible for remembering these people: the other people, the invisible people.
- Who are these people?
- Why have we not got memories of knowing these people: of artists, stem scientists, educational pioneers, inventors, social and political entrepreneurs, who all happen to be women. Is it because they are not skilled? Are they not believed to be useful? Do people not trust their work? Is their work deemed un-valuable and not worthy of esteem and pride?
The exhibition itself is about:
Representation/acknowledgement/recognition/celebration of pioneer/academic/social/research communities of oxford and beyond. Of historical importance.
Who is left to represent?
Representation/acknowledgement/recognition/celebration of current/everyday/common people who every day try to be valued/to own their space/to be heard/to be respected.
- What is value? What is personal space? What is it like to be heard, and to be respected?
- What is the social common ground that lifts us up/transforms our communities to reach for change?
- Do we actually want change? Are we happy to remain in our bubbles of existence?
- Do we actually want to expand our horizons to help/remember other people? How does that help me?
reverse thought bubbles: “It has to serve myself. What are my gains through reaching out to other people? Do I care to know their stories? What about my story? No-one cares for me, therefore I care for no-one. It’s their problem. They have to deal with it. I have my own problems to deal with. Why should I care to help others? They haven’t helped me in any way. They haven’t worked like I have. I’ve worked all my life and I will live the way I want. No-one can tell me how to live.”
- Is this something to do with gender?
- Are we a nurturing society as a whole? Can we become one if we are not?