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Morning Make-up
Rosemary Cronin
Morning Make-up reimagines the debate around doing your make-up on the tube. As a woman I have often felt that mixture of emotions of panic, dread, shame and awkwardness when doing my make-up in between tube stops; instead this series imagines that the woman feels empowered to be doing her make-up on the journey; she feels glamorous, she has everything she needs and in some of the images she even has a whole team! My own fantasy of what make-up on the tube could be.
Rosemary Cronin is an artist, writer and lecturer with a research-based practice focusing on gender, psychoanalysis and subversion. The work is realised through film, performance, paint, print and sculpture. Cronin has exhibited at The Freud Museum, ICA London, National Portrait Gallery, Transition Gallery, South London Gallery and The Wallace Collection. Film piece ‘Reverie’ was selected by the Guggenheim Foundation as part of their Under the Same Sun season in 2016.
Morning Make-up reimagines the debate around doing your make-up on the tube. As a woman I have often felt that mixture of emotions of panic, dread, shame and awkwardness when doing my make-up in between tube stops; instead this series imagines that the woman feels empowered to be doing her make-up on the journey; she feels glamorous, she has everything she needs and in some of the images she even has a whole team! My own fantasy of what make-up on the tube could be.
Rosemary Cronin is an artist, writer and lecturer with a research-based practice focusing on gender, psychoanalysis and subversion. The work is realised through film, performance, paint, print and sculpture. Cronin has exhibited at The Freud Museum, ICA London, National Portrait Gallery, Transition Gallery, South London Gallery and The Wallace Collection. Film piece ‘Reverie’ was selected by the Guggenheim Foundation as part of their Under the Same Sun season in 2016.
Closed for Safety
Joy McKay (She/They)
In the online transport press there is a lot of talk about the costs of removing graffiti. But in one striking post the graffiti said "Be Aware Kids Drug Dealers Here." Shortly afterwards I was at a minor train station and witnessed the most blatant drug dealing I've ever seen. It was the middle of the day but as I looked around at the graffiti, locked up waiting room and vandalised outbuildings I felt I was in a lawless state. What else could happen here?
Closure of waiting rooms symbolises the abandonment of the rail system and the isolation you feel when waiting to change at smaller stations. Maintaining a hospitable environment makes customers feel safe but also discourages crime
Joy is a full time technician and part time PhD student in the Human Factors team, part of the Transportation Research Group at The University of Southampton. They are interested in inclusivity and equity championing intersectionality within the domain.
Outside of work they enjoy playing roller derby with Southampton City Rollers, marathon running, reviewing the theatre for In Common magazine and creating art
In the online transport press there is a lot of talk about the costs of removing graffiti. But in one striking post the graffiti said "Be Aware Kids Drug Dealers Here." Shortly afterwards I was at a minor train station and witnessed the most blatant drug dealing I've ever seen. It was the middle of the day but as I looked around at the graffiti, locked up waiting room and vandalised outbuildings I felt I was in a lawless state. What else could happen here?
Closure of waiting rooms symbolises the abandonment of the rail system and the isolation you feel when waiting to change at smaller stations. Maintaining a hospitable environment makes customers feel safe but also discourages crime
Joy is a full time technician and part time PhD student in the Human Factors team, part of the Transportation Research Group at The University of Southampton. They are interested in inclusivity and equity championing intersectionality within the domain.
Outside of work they enjoy playing roller derby with Southampton City Rollers, marathon running, reviewing the theatre for In Common magazine and creating art
Last Train Home
Annie Farthing
OUTSIDE
L.R. McCarthy
This personal written piece explores ideas of dread associated with late night travel in cities and the distinction between the seeming safety of interior spaces compared to our learned fear of the outdoors. The piece does not reference gender as this can be a universal feeling; for instance, during the writing process, McCarthy drew upon the experiences of friends, including two who identify as men, attacked during the night on their way home.
L.R. McCarthy is a secondary teacher of English and Film who writes creatively in their spare time.
This personal written piece explores ideas of dread associated with late night travel in cities and the distinction between the seeming safety of interior spaces compared to our learned fear of the outdoors. The piece does not reference gender as this can be a universal feeling; for instance, during the writing process, McCarthy drew upon the experiences of friends, including two who identify as men, attacked during the night on their way home.
L.R. McCarthy is a secondary teacher of English and Film who writes creatively in their spare time.
Anger Disgust Fear Happiness Sadness Surprise
Caroline Sinders
"Anger Disgust Fear Happiness Sadness Surprise" are the six emotions that are defined to be culturally universal by the Emotion Facial Action Coding System (Emfacs) developed by Paul Ekman and Wallace V Friesen in the 1980s. This specific system of emotion definitions and taxonomies is the backbone of most emotion recognition systems today. Almost all emotion recognition systems have varying degrees of inaccuracy and often classified people's emotions incorrectly. "Anger Disgust Fear Happiness Sadness Surprise" explores the complexities of how machines confuse human emotions, but the deeper questions of how do we emote, what do we emote, and are we allowed to express emotions equally? This video explores the main character, the artist, walking through and transiting the city, with their emotions read and misread by Ai surveillance systems.
Bio:
Caroline Sinders is an award winning critical designer, researcher, and artist. She’s the founder of human rights and design lab, Convocation Research + Design. For the past few years, she has been examining the intersections of artificial intelligence, intersectional justice, systems design, harm, and politics in digital conversational spaces and technology platforms. She’s worked with the Tate Exchange at the Tate Modern, the United Nations,the European Commission, Ars Electronica, the Harvard Kennedy School and others. Caroline is currently based between London, UK and New Orleans, USA.
"Anger Disgust Fear Happiness Sadness Surprise" are the six emotions that are defined to be culturally universal by the Emotion Facial Action Coding System (Emfacs) developed by Paul Ekman and Wallace V Friesen in the 1980s. This specific system of emotion definitions and taxonomies is the backbone of most emotion recognition systems today. Almost all emotion recognition systems have varying degrees of inaccuracy and often classified people's emotions incorrectly. "Anger Disgust Fear Happiness Sadness Surprise" explores the complexities of how machines confuse human emotions, but the deeper questions of how do we emote, what do we emote, and are we allowed to express emotions equally? This video explores the main character, the artist, walking through and transiting the city, with their emotions read and misread by Ai surveillance systems.
Bio:
Caroline Sinders is an award winning critical designer, researcher, and artist. She’s the founder of human rights and design lab, Convocation Research + Design. For the past few years, she has been examining the intersections of artificial intelligence, intersectional justice, systems design, harm, and politics in digital conversational spaces and technology platforms. She’s worked with the Tate Exchange at the Tate Modern, the United Nations,the European Commission, Ars Electronica, the Harvard Kennedy School and others. Caroline is currently based between London, UK and New Orleans, USA.
My Girlfriend's Girlfriend's Bike is My Bike Too
Lesia Tkacz and an anonymous collaborator
This animated GIF is created using a Blingee or Glitter GIF aesthetic, which I was reintroduced to during a workshop on Making Digital Glamour: Queer Femme Internet Aesthetics led by Katie Schaag in 2021. One of most memorable discussion points was that the early web aesthetic is indebted to the labor of teenage girls, who spent countless hours creating pages and artifacts which populated the web and established a distinct visual culture. Ever since that workshop I have finally been able to better articulate my nostalgia for a past that I did not fully participate in as much as I wanted to...or indeed could have, thanks to the irritating predicament of being born just a few years too late to fully participate in the glamourous, queer femme internet of Web 1.0.
Not wanting to miss out on anything again, I ride about the city on my junky three-gear bike and adore being able to quickly breeze over to somewhere in the summertime. I'm terribly proud of this hunk-of-junk and I'm quite certain this particular one is completely undesirable to thieves (my friends' bikes are unfortunately not so lucky). The grisly traffic doesn't even phase me that much anymore, and I'm quite sure that drivers try to drive safer when they think there's a woman cyclist ahead - well most of the time anyway. I suppose.
This animated Glitter GIF shows my bicycle SECURELY parked at a girlfriend's garden on a sparkling summer evening while we were busy glamming up according to the latest femme aesthetics on the internet.
This animated GIF is created using a Blingee or Glitter GIF aesthetic, which I was reintroduced to during a workshop on Making Digital Glamour: Queer Femme Internet Aesthetics led by Katie Schaag in 2021. One of most memorable discussion points was that the early web aesthetic is indebted to the labor of teenage girls, who spent countless hours creating pages and artifacts which populated the web and established a distinct visual culture. Ever since that workshop I have finally been able to better articulate my nostalgia for a past that I did not fully participate in as much as I wanted to...or indeed could have, thanks to the irritating predicament of being born just a few years too late to fully participate in the glamourous, queer femme internet of Web 1.0.
Not wanting to miss out on anything again, I ride about the city on my junky three-gear bike and adore being able to quickly breeze over to somewhere in the summertime. I'm terribly proud of this hunk-of-junk and I'm quite certain this particular one is completely undesirable to thieves (my friends' bikes are unfortunately not so lucky). The grisly traffic doesn't even phase me that much anymore, and I'm quite sure that drivers try to drive safer when they think there's a woman cyclist ahead - well most of the time anyway. I suppose.
This animated Glitter GIF shows my bicycle SECURELY parked at a girlfriend's garden on a sparkling summer evening while we were busy glamming up according to the latest femme aesthetics on the internet.
Untitled
Spring Wise
This piece talks about the invisible mental load carried by people excluded from safe travel, and therefore excluded from full participation in society.
As a disabled, queer woman I depend on others like me to share information about risk, obstacles and solutions for everyday challenges moving around the world and experiencing basic freedoms taken for granted by the people designing the landscape.
The Internet has been revolutionary in enabling this, but the responsibility to support and protect others is shouldered by those most personally affected: the more intersecting disadvantages a person experiences, the more likely they are to take responsibility for others' safety.
The mental toll of this is enormous, but in an indifferent, and even hostile, society... the alternative is danger and isolation. Even death.
This piece talks about the invisible mental load carried by people excluded from safe travel, and therefore excluded from full participation in society.
As a disabled, queer woman I depend on others like me to share information about risk, obstacles and solutions for everyday challenges moving around the world and experiencing basic freedoms taken for granted by the people designing the landscape.
The Internet has been revolutionary in enabling this, but the responsibility to support and protect others is shouldered by those most personally affected: the more intersecting disadvantages a person experiences, the more likely they are to take responsibility for others' safety.
The mental toll of this is enormous, but in an indifferent, and even hostile, society... the alternative is danger and isolation. Even death.
Memory Lane
Selin Zileli
This interactive piece draws inspiration from the historical challenges women faced while entering
public spaces. It aims to offer an engaging experience that goes beyond traditional storytelling,
encouraging active participation from the audience.
The artwork explores the themes of women's presence in the built environment, focusing on safety,
transportation, and accessibility. Through a 'memory game' concept, it showcases historical
photographs of women in public spaces, accompanied by brief descriptions that provide context and
relevance to their experiences in the built environment. Concealed images under moving circles
offer glimpses into specific moments where women defied societal norms, challenging perceptions
and carving out spaces for themselves in male-dominated worlds.
By sparking conversations about the interplay of gender dynamics, transportation, and the spaces
we inhabit, the piece prompts reflection and fosters a deeper understanding of how historical
narratives have influenced the urban landscapes we navigate today. It seeks to create a dynamic
dialogue with the past by inviting participants to actively engage with the content, connecting past
and present aspirations for an inclusive and safe urban future.
Selin is a Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, focusing on the intersection of urban mobility, technology, and design for a more inclusive and sustainable future. Her work revolves around social innovation, employing various technologies to collect and represent data and addressing challenges in mobility.
This interactive piece draws inspiration from the historical challenges women faced while entering
public spaces. It aims to offer an engaging experience that goes beyond traditional storytelling,
encouraging active participation from the audience.
The artwork explores the themes of women's presence in the built environment, focusing on safety,
transportation, and accessibility. Through a 'memory game' concept, it showcases historical
photographs of women in public spaces, accompanied by brief descriptions that provide context and
relevance to their experiences in the built environment. Concealed images under moving circles
offer glimpses into specific moments where women defied societal norms, challenging perceptions
and carving out spaces for themselves in male-dominated worlds.
By sparking conversations about the interplay of gender dynamics, transportation, and the spaces
we inhabit, the piece prompts reflection and fosters a deeper understanding of how historical
narratives have influenced the urban landscapes we navigate today. It seeks to create a dynamic
dialogue with the past by inviting participants to actively engage with the content, connecting past
and present aspirations for an inclusive and safe urban future.
Selin is a Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, focusing on the intersection of urban mobility, technology, and design for a more inclusive and sustainable future. Her work revolves around social innovation, employing various technologies to collect and represent data and addressing challenges in mobility.
Mitigations and Outrage
Kiome Pope (She/Her)
Thoughtscapes of Vigil: Journeying home after dark
Kirsten Madeira-Revell
Kirsten Madeira-Revell is an Artist, Equity Advocate & Researcher.
She founded Close the Data Gap with colleagues at the University of Southampton to create a more equitable world, alongside creating unique art in acrylics, print, line, mixed media and wire sculptures . She is inspired by mythology, nature & alternate perspectives.
Description of the work
Conversations with women and men about traveling home alone after dark revealed how women take for granted being in a state of vigil, with common thoughts absent from the male narrative. This artwork depicts a women after dark on a journey home.
It could be a journey by foot, public transport, taxi or even her own car. Regardless of the mode of transport - there is a corresponding narrative in most women’s minds. Planning ahead to anticipate problems, using their senses and instincts to keep vigilant. “Are those footsteps I hear behind me…?” … “can I trust this taxi driver…?”
The women has a confident poise - after all - this is what safety guidelines advise to reduce the likelihood of being targeted. Her thoughts are depicted in script in her vivid blue hair. She is adorned by entangled strands of vigilance.
Mobile phones have become an essential tool in women’s safety, as a tracker and emergency lifeline to trusted contacts or to report harassment and assaults. Apps have been created to show safer areas to walk, or help share unsafe areas to avoid. The onus is on the women: To limit her travel .To keep herself safe. To not take ‘unreasonable risks’. There are no apps or phone lines to help ‘would be predators’ to avoid harassing or attacking women.
Kirsten Madeira-Revell is an Artist, Equity Advocate & Researcher.
She founded Close the Data Gap with colleagues at the University of Southampton to create a more equitable world, alongside creating unique art in acrylics, print, line, mixed media and wire sculptures . She is inspired by mythology, nature & alternate perspectives.
Description of the work
Conversations with women and men about traveling home alone after dark revealed how women take for granted being in a state of vigil, with common thoughts absent from the male narrative. This artwork depicts a women after dark on a journey home.
It could be a journey by foot, public transport, taxi or even her own car. Regardless of the mode of transport - there is a corresponding narrative in most women’s minds. Planning ahead to anticipate problems, using their senses and instincts to keep vigilant. “Are those footsteps I hear behind me…?” … “can I trust this taxi driver…?”
The women has a confident poise - after all - this is what safety guidelines advise to reduce the likelihood of being targeted. Her thoughts are depicted in script in her vivid blue hair. She is adorned by entangled strands of vigilance.
Mobile phones have become an essential tool in women’s safety, as a tracker and emergency lifeline to trusted contacts or to report harassment and assaults. Apps have been created to show safer areas to walk, or help share unsafe areas to avoid. The onus is on the women: To limit her travel .To keep herself safe. To not take ‘unreasonable risks’. There are no apps or phone lines to help ‘would be predators’ to avoid harassing or attacking women.
Getting out of the house: untracked variables
Joanna McManus
Description of the work ‘Getting out of the house: untracked variables’
Following a period of illness which meant that I was lying down for much of my time looking at the ceiling, I have become very aware of the sky above me when I go for a walk outside. In this piece I seek to subvert my smart watch’s record of my route with its hard data concerning location, speed, heart rate and elevation, and instead represent the route with untracked parts of the experience. Using sketchy hand drawn lines and ink washes I re-envision the route less authoritatively: the sky spreads out above me beyond the narrow track I walked, swifts that appeared at one point, the clouds changed, there were brief rain showers, and I passed beneath the cover of trees.
Always torn between art and maths, I studied maths at university and ended up working in communications. I now spend (my favourite) part of my professional life on data visualisation and infographics, trying to make representations which are at the same time easy to interpret, eye-catching and true. The challenge with this work is that any charted data tends to give the impression of telling the whole (or the most important) story. In our data rich world, things that can be measured and compared come to prominence ― and the things that aren’t measured, or can’t be measured, fall away. I am interested in exploring work that seeks to challenge the dominance of the measurable and to examine how these partial descriptions affect our attention and shift our experience of our own lives.
Price £175
Description of the work ‘Getting out of the house: untracked variables’
Following a period of illness which meant that I was lying down for much of my time looking at the ceiling, I have become very aware of the sky above me when I go for a walk outside. In this piece I seek to subvert my smart watch’s record of my route with its hard data concerning location, speed, heart rate and elevation, and instead represent the route with untracked parts of the experience. Using sketchy hand drawn lines and ink washes I re-envision the route less authoritatively: the sky spreads out above me beyond the narrow track I walked, swifts that appeared at one point, the clouds changed, there were brief rain showers, and I passed beneath the cover of trees.
Always torn between art and maths, I studied maths at university and ended up working in communications. I now spend (my favourite) part of my professional life on data visualisation and infographics, trying to make representations which are at the same time easy to interpret, eye-catching and true. The challenge with this work is that any charted data tends to give the impression of telling the whole (or the most important) story. In our data rich world, things that can be measured and compared come to prominence ― and the things that aren’t measured, or can’t be measured, fall away. I am interested in exploring work that seeks to challenge the dominance of the measurable and to examine how these partial descriptions affect our attention and shift our experience of our own lives.
Price £175
He Who Hovers
Nick Madeira
Sometimes planning a journey on a smartphone can be done over a bowl of cereal. Other times it happens while you’re already running late, constrained by the T&Cs of the available ticket options, and at the whims of QR readers, fellow travellers, and (of course) lifts.
Telling stories, playing with words, making no excuses for silly jokes.
Visit the Waterglass Reader for more: waterglassreader.wordpress.com
Sometimes planning a journey on a smartphone can be done over a bowl of cereal. Other times it happens while you’re already running late, constrained by the T&Cs of the available ticket options, and at the whims of QR readers, fellow travellers, and (of course) lifts.
Telling stories, playing with words, making no excuses for silly jokes.
Visit the Waterglass Reader for more: waterglassreader.wordpress.com
Prayer in C
SkiLzLosT
This Artwork was inspired by the video to the song 'Prayer in C' by Lilly Wood & The Prick and Robin Schulz. The video show that for both genders different of types of transport (skateboards, motorbikes, cars, bikes), offer the opportunity for freedom, fun and a sense of connection.
There is a sense of living for today and also how when friends get together they are more likely to take risks when using transport- just for laughs. At different points in the video we see a train in the background- it feels like a symbol of new adventures and journeys. Where will life take you?
Mobile phones now make it so much easier to connect and arrange to meet up with people - wherever you are you can send your location and get together to have fun. Peoples' journeys can be more spontaneous and free.
This artwork used a still from YouTube of the video to the song. Technology give so many options to access inspiration for my art. The piece shows a male and female connecting on the edge of a roof top- with the train in the background. Is this risky connection the start of a new adventure?
Mau H (aka SkiLzLosT) is an artist living in the New Forest who loves drawing stations and
transport.
This Artwork was inspired by the video to the song 'Prayer in C' by Lilly Wood & The Prick and Robin Schulz. The video show that for both genders different of types of transport (skateboards, motorbikes, cars, bikes), offer the opportunity for freedom, fun and a sense of connection.
There is a sense of living for today and also how when friends get together they are more likely to take risks when using transport- just for laughs. At different points in the video we see a train in the background- it feels like a symbol of new adventures and journeys. Where will life take you?
Mobile phones now make it so much easier to connect and arrange to meet up with people - wherever you are you can send your location and get together to have fun. Peoples' journeys can be more spontaneous and free.
This artwork used a still from YouTube of the video to the song. Technology give so many options to access inspiration for my art. The piece shows a male and female connecting on the edge of a roof top- with the train in the background. Is this risky connection the start of a new adventure?
Mau H (aka SkiLzLosT) is an artist living in the New Forest who loves drawing stations and
transport.
Satellite Miss-Navigation
James Lucas
This is google maps working perfectly in the city but not working very well in the countryside where there’s no wifi or mobile connection..
It’s funny because it says you are somewhere you are not.
In the city it’s already easier to find things even without the navigation but the countryside is where it goes wrong most of the time.
Where technology is meant to help you it’s basically doing the opposite when you need it most!
This is google maps working perfectly in the city but not working very well in the countryside where there’s no wifi or mobile connection..
It’s funny because it says you are somewhere you are not.
In the city it’s already easier to find things even without the navigation but the countryside is where it goes wrong most of the time.
Where technology is meant to help you it’s basically doing the opposite when you need it most!
Bare Responsibility
Joy McKay (She/They)
Andrew Tate has tweeted that "women should bear responsibility [for sexual assault] they want to put zero blame on the victim whatsoever... Take some personal responsibility. This zero blame game is damaging to the female cause as a whole. Protect yourselves."
I couldn't help but think of this quote as a took a short cut through the woods between two Southampton council estates where I live. It was a hot day and I'd popped out quick to pick up a prescription without consideration for what I was wearing. What I happened to be wearing was a form fitting leopard print mini dress and no bra. Was I 'asking for it?' I pondered as I picked up my pace to get to the busy road. What would Tate deem suitable for this trip?
I thought a paper doll would allow people to express what they considered was appropriate attire for me.
Joy McKay is a full time technician and part time PhD student in the Human Factors team, part of the Transportation Research Group at The University of Southampton. They are interested in inclusivity and equity championing intersectionality within the domain.
Outside of work they enjoy playing roller derby with Southampton City Rollers, marathon running, reviewing the theatre for In Common magazine and creating art.
Andrew Tate has tweeted that "women should bear responsibility [for sexual assault] they want to put zero blame on the victim whatsoever... Take some personal responsibility. This zero blame game is damaging to the female cause as a whole. Protect yourselves."
I couldn't help but think of this quote as a took a short cut through the woods between two Southampton council estates where I live. It was a hot day and I'd popped out quick to pick up a prescription without consideration for what I was wearing. What I happened to be wearing was a form fitting leopard print mini dress and no bra. Was I 'asking for it?' I pondered as I picked up my pace to get to the busy road. What would Tate deem suitable for this trip?
I thought a paper doll would allow people to express what they considered was appropriate attire for me.
Joy McKay is a full time technician and part time PhD student in the Human Factors team, part of the Transportation Research Group at The University of Southampton. They are interested in inclusivity and equity championing intersectionality within the domain.
Outside of work they enjoy playing roller derby with Southampton City Rollers, marathon running, reviewing the theatre for In Common magazine and creating art.
World in Constant Motion
Daniela Mihai
Do you stop to look around? Do you take the known road home or do you adventure into less-known streets? And then, do you walk with earphones on and looking into the ground, or on the contrary, being extra careful with each noise? Do you take time to see what’s happening around you? Maybe something changed? Does it look the same as it did yesterday? Do you just ignore things you are familiar with? Do you simplify the world to some lines to follow to get from one point to another?
This artwork explores the simplification of the routes we follow in everyday journeys while also challenging the viewer to reflect on the difference in decisions when it comes to transit and how gender may influence these. How each perceives their surroundings and whether there are things worth stopping for and capturing in a picture or simply acknowledging.
The photograph has been taken by Jon Hare (University of Southampton) during a trip to Vancouver. The simplified sketches show a machine’s, in this case, an AI model, perception of the photograph under different constraints. Constraints such as drawing using a certain number of variable-length straight lines.
The simplified lines and shapes intertwine, reminiscent of the paths we navigate in our journeys. As the machine’s perceptions become more abstract and lose their original meaning, they start creating new outlines or new possible routes. At the same time, it hints at how sometimes movement and mobility can become constrained due to various factors, such as gender but also one’s own decisions.
Daniela Mihai is a Research Fellow in Machine Learning at the University of Southampton, interested in the autonomous emergence of communication between artificial agents. On the side, I take a great interest in art as it's one of the most complete techniques of communication.
Do you stop to look around? Do you take the known road home or do you adventure into less-known streets? And then, do you walk with earphones on and looking into the ground, or on the contrary, being extra careful with each noise? Do you take time to see what’s happening around you? Maybe something changed? Does it look the same as it did yesterday? Do you just ignore things you are familiar with? Do you simplify the world to some lines to follow to get from one point to another?
This artwork explores the simplification of the routes we follow in everyday journeys while also challenging the viewer to reflect on the difference in decisions when it comes to transit and how gender may influence these. How each perceives their surroundings and whether there are things worth stopping for and capturing in a picture or simply acknowledging.
The photograph has been taken by Jon Hare (University of Southampton) during a trip to Vancouver. The simplified sketches show a machine’s, in this case, an AI model, perception of the photograph under different constraints. Constraints such as drawing using a certain number of variable-length straight lines.
The simplified lines and shapes intertwine, reminiscent of the paths we navigate in our journeys. As the machine’s perceptions become more abstract and lose their original meaning, they start creating new outlines or new possible routes. At the same time, it hints at how sometimes movement and mobility can become constrained due to various factors, such as gender but also one’s own decisions.
Daniela Mihai is a Research Fellow in Machine Learning at the University of Southampton, interested in the autonomous emergence of communication between artificial agents. On the side, I take a great interest in art as it's one of the most complete techniques of communication.
Jenny 5 Sacks
Lesia Tkacz and Jenny J.
Jenny is known for walking all over the city: no car, no bike, no bus - just walking at great speeds. And always with about five bags. She says it's no big deal, she says it's fine. But then she also says she hates walking, but doesn't fancy getting a bike. Oh well. This is why we call her Jenny-five-sacks.
Jenny, Jenny-Five-Sacks! Five bags full!
To be fair, cycling around the city with aggressive traffic can be pretty grisly. But getting held up by loitering street bins is a battle too. Jenny's tedious and never-ending plod through Portswood is crystalized in an animated GIF which also pictures an old of Southampton. The sepia filter pairs with the choppy frames and endless comical walk animation to highlight the seriously outdated problem of struggling to move through a space that does not prioritize pedestrians and other modes of active travel.
Jenny-Five-Sacks will continue her perpetual plod through cyberspace and Web traffic as a classic fixture of the Web 1.0 aesthetic - the animated GIF.
Jenny is known for walking all over the city: no car, no bike, no bus - just walking at great speeds. And always with about five bags. She says it's no big deal, she says it's fine. But then she also says she hates walking, but doesn't fancy getting a bike. Oh well. This is why we call her Jenny-five-sacks.
Jenny, Jenny-Five-Sacks! Five bags full!
To be fair, cycling around the city with aggressive traffic can be pretty grisly. But getting held up by loitering street bins is a battle too. Jenny's tedious and never-ending plod through Portswood is crystalized in an animated GIF which also pictures an old of Southampton. The sepia filter pairs with the choppy frames and endless comical walk animation to highlight the seriously outdated problem of struggling to move through a space that does not prioritize pedestrians and other modes of active travel.
Jenny-Five-Sacks will continue her perpetual plod through cyberspace and Web traffic as a classic fixture of the Web 1.0 aesthetic - the animated GIF.
As The Light Shifts
Pradeepa David
This is a path that I walk on every single weekday, morning and evening, as it is the way to my son’s school. It’s a beautiful path with the hedge of a home on the right and wild roses and bushes growing on the other side. Behind the roses and other greenery, the land descends to become the path for a stream.
During the day, it's frequented by children, parents, joggers, cyclists and pets. But as the light shifts and darkness sets in, it’s not a path I’d feel safe to walk through alone, perhaps because of what I’m told goes on there.
This painting captures the morning light drenching the path and the plants and flowers. But on the right, darkness is in the process of leaving. I wanted to highlight that contrast because I believe it makes a huge difference to how women plan journeys with respect to the route and time.
Just as the morning light comes day after day, change is possible, even if it’s miniscule every day. When it’s day after day, the difference adds up.
Pradeepa David is a self-taught watercolour artist living near Southampton, surrounded by beautiful Hampshire countryside and New Forest. Although she painted as a child and won school art competitions, a medical career meant that she didn’t pick a paintbrush till 2018.
Her Indian background inspires the vibrant colours she uses, especially with her passion to highlight light. Experimenting with new techniques and ways of making watercolours shine is a constant part of the journey.
Her art has been exhibited in local exhibitions in Hampshire and Winchester hospital.
Creating art helps her channel the inner joy and peace she feels as she paints, into the painting. Her hope is that viewers of her art will feel the same.
This is a path that I walk on every single weekday, morning and evening, as it is the way to my son’s school. It’s a beautiful path with the hedge of a home on the right and wild roses and bushes growing on the other side. Behind the roses and other greenery, the land descends to become the path for a stream.
During the day, it's frequented by children, parents, joggers, cyclists and pets. But as the light shifts and darkness sets in, it’s not a path I’d feel safe to walk through alone, perhaps because of what I’m told goes on there.
This painting captures the morning light drenching the path and the plants and flowers. But on the right, darkness is in the process of leaving. I wanted to highlight that contrast because I believe it makes a huge difference to how women plan journeys with respect to the route and time.
Just as the morning light comes day after day, change is possible, even if it’s miniscule every day. When it’s day after day, the difference adds up.
Pradeepa David is a self-taught watercolour artist living near Southampton, surrounded by beautiful Hampshire countryside and New Forest. Although she painted as a child and won school art competitions, a medical career meant that she didn’t pick a paintbrush till 2018.
Her Indian background inspires the vibrant colours she uses, especially with her passion to highlight light. Experimenting with new techniques and ways of making watercolours shine is a constant part of the journey.
Her art has been exhibited in local exhibitions in Hampshire and Winchester hospital.
Creating art helps her channel the inner joy and peace she feels as she paints, into the painting. Her hope is that viewers of her art will feel the same.
Sarah's Vigil, March 2021
Tanya Goodman Bailey
The Duchess of Cambridge visits the vigil for Sarah Everard in Clapham Common. Protestor Patsy Stevenson gets arrested later that evening and a woman named Georgina is flashed at on her way home but denied help by the police because, ‘We’ve had enough of you lot today’.
That the response by the police was so heavy handed and then totally lacking when needed, had an added sinister layer when a Metropolitan Police officer from the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection unit pleaded guilty to all 3 counts of Sarah’s abduction, rape and murder.
Admiring the outpouring of rage and sadness, my reaction was more numbed. I felt removed and dissociated indicated by the perspective being painted slightly from above. It's all pretty Me Too: I have also been attacked on the streets (of Paris) age 19 coming home late from a waitressing job, arms behind me and shoved down like Patsy with a lucky escape thanks to a passer by. I have also been flashed at in London, rolled my eyes and moved on, not wishing to admit that despite being harmless, he had got me scared and rattled.
Note it is only the future Queen consort in this picture that is neither man handled nor harassed. Princess Catherine released a statement saying that she "remembers what it was like to walk around London at night before she was married”.
Tanya Goodman Bailey is a painter who runs Speed Sketch Nights in London.
Oil on linen
Price £433
The Duchess of Cambridge visits the vigil for Sarah Everard in Clapham Common. Protestor Patsy Stevenson gets arrested later that evening and a woman named Georgina is flashed at on her way home but denied help by the police because, ‘We’ve had enough of you lot today’.
That the response by the police was so heavy handed and then totally lacking when needed, had an added sinister layer when a Metropolitan Police officer from the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection unit pleaded guilty to all 3 counts of Sarah’s abduction, rape and murder.
Admiring the outpouring of rage and sadness, my reaction was more numbed. I felt removed and dissociated indicated by the perspective being painted slightly from above. It's all pretty Me Too: I have also been attacked on the streets (of Paris) age 19 coming home late from a waitressing job, arms behind me and shoved down like Patsy with a lucky escape thanks to a passer by. I have also been flashed at in London, rolled my eyes and moved on, not wishing to admit that despite being harmless, he had got me scared and rattled.
Note it is only the future Queen consort in this picture that is neither man handled nor harassed. Princess Catherine released a statement saying that she "remembers what it was like to walk around London at night before she was married”.
Tanya Goodman Bailey is a painter who runs Speed Sketch Nights in London.
Oil on linen
Price £433
"My Garmin just shows the location of my body I've realised"
Joy McKay (She/They)
Inspired by social media discussions on technology supporting safety for women who run, this piece depicts a sunset in The New Forest. Nestled between the mushrooms and ferns is a hint of silver. The screen of a running watch catching the last of the days sun and indicating the location of the body of an abducted runner.
Joy is a full time technician and part time PhD student in the Human Factors team, part of the Transportation Research Group at The University of Southampton. They are interested in inclusivity and equity championing intersectionality within the domain.
Outside of work they enjoy playing roller derby with Southampton City Rollers, marathon running, reviewing the theatre for In Common magazine and creating art
Inspired by social media discussions on technology supporting safety for women who run, this piece depicts a sunset in The New Forest. Nestled between the mushrooms and ferns is a hint of silver. The screen of a running watch catching the last of the days sun and indicating the location of the body of an abducted runner.
Joy is a full time technician and part time PhD student in the Human Factors team, part of the Transportation Research Group at The University of Southampton. They are interested in inclusivity and equity championing intersectionality within the domain.
Outside of work they enjoy playing roller derby with Southampton City Rollers, marathon running, reviewing the theatre for In Common magazine and creating art
Pocket App
Rebecca Kinge
Medium: Knitting, with a paper timetable
I want to celebrate the Bluestar Bus App. Travel is a very sensory experience, with all those sights, smells and movement. Knitting is also very sensory. I often knit when I’m on the Bluestar buses, particularly on the top deck at the front, looking out over the city as I go. Feel free to touch the Pocket App. One side is a representation of the Bluestar App, with a QR code that takes you to the Bluestar website.
The other side, is more about the non-digital side of travel. There is a little window saying “Look in here”. If you open the pocket, you can see a physical timetable of Southampton’s No 17 bus. I’ve made some notes on travel, gender, disability and digital exclusion. Apps are great, but they can reinforce that sense that you need to be digitally savvy to navigate the world. If you have a disability, you may well be able to get a concessionary bus pass , but can you afford to buy the latest technology to know when the buses will arrive? And living with disability usually means high costs and low income, so modern technology can be out of reach.
For me, the Bluestar app works well on my phone (yeah!). But I can’t access all travel apps because my phone is quite old. I know I can’t hire a Beryl Bike, or use the Breeze journey planning app, because of this.I have also been reflecting on the link between menopause and travel. How many other women, whose bodies are changing, have had to change the way they travel?
I am a Southampton-based community worker, passionate about hearing people’s experiences of life in Southampton. I believe that we need to talk more about our city and what could make us healthier and happier, in order to progress solutions together. I am very concerned about climate change and biodiversity breakdown, and want to see more action in these areas. I like to try out creative ways to get people chatting. I work for Southampton Voluntary Services and am part of The Southampton Collective, two community-based organisations in the city. I can be contacted via email, phone or social media.
Medium: Knitting, with a paper timetable
I want to celebrate the Bluestar Bus App. Travel is a very sensory experience, with all those sights, smells and movement. Knitting is also very sensory. I often knit when I’m on the Bluestar buses, particularly on the top deck at the front, looking out over the city as I go. Feel free to touch the Pocket App. One side is a representation of the Bluestar App, with a QR code that takes you to the Bluestar website.
The other side, is more about the non-digital side of travel. There is a little window saying “Look in here”. If you open the pocket, you can see a physical timetable of Southampton’s No 17 bus. I’ve made some notes on travel, gender, disability and digital exclusion. Apps are great, but they can reinforce that sense that you need to be digitally savvy to navigate the world. If you have a disability, you may well be able to get a concessionary bus pass , but can you afford to buy the latest technology to know when the buses will arrive? And living with disability usually means high costs and low income, so modern technology can be out of reach.
For me, the Bluestar app works well on my phone (yeah!). But I can’t access all travel apps because my phone is quite old. I know I can’t hire a Beryl Bike, or use the Breeze journey planning app, because of this.I have also been reflecting on the link between menopause and travel. How many other women, whose bodies are changing, have had to change the way they travel?
I am a Southampton-based community worker, passionate about hearing people’s experiences of life in Southampton. I believe that we need to talk more about our city and what could make us healthier and happier, in order to progress solutions together. I am very concerned about climate change and biodiversity breakdown, and want to see more action in these areas. I like to try out creative ways to get people chatting. I work for Southampton Voluntary Services and am part of The Southampton Collective, two community-based organisations in the city. I can be contacted via email, phone or social media.
Unsafe Passage: Frustration, Boredom, Overwhelm
Nicholas Revel
#MAMIL
Kirsten Madeira-Revell
Kirsten Madeira-Revell is an Artist, Equity Advocate & Researcher.
She founded Close the Data Gap with colleagues at the University of Southampton to create a more equitable world, alongside creating unique art in acrylics, print, line, mixed media and wire sculptures . She is inspired by mythology, nature & alternate perspectives.
Talking to men in our gender equity group - MAMIL came up as a ‘male only’ experience with active travel. I wanted to find out more…
According to Wikipedia:
MAMIL is an acronym and a pejorative term for a "middle-aged man in lycra"– that is, men who ride an expensive racing bicycle for leisure, while wearing body-hugging jerseys and bicycle shorts.
Using Instagram as a source searching the hashtag #MAMIL - I found 44,221 posts embracing this term. But what they showed surprised me. After recovering from all the ‘Lycra crotch shots’ - found the images represented camaraderie amongst men. Finding joy in physical exercise, getting out in nature, and enjoying a good meal & drink. Looking further into MAMIL culture - I have learnt that cycling has been a ‘mental health life saver’ to many men in middle age - who in the rat race of life have lost their sense of joy.
The ridicule of the MAMIL stereotype could lead to a loss of empathy in drivers who share the road with this tribe. Leaving less space in passing than they would to more typical cyclists, and increasing safety risks.
The artwork uses image from instagram in an extended grid pattern to create 3D shapes of the word #MAMIL I’m interested in how the derogatory term affects the viewers impression of the images shown.
Price: £77
Kirsten Madeira-Revell is an Artist, Equity Advocate & Researcher.
She founded Close the Data Gap with colleagues at the University of Southampton to create a more equitable world, alongside creating unique art in acrylics, print, line, mixed media and wire sculptures . She is inspired by mythology, nature & alternate perspectives.
Talking to men in our gender equity group - MAMIL came up as a ‘male only’ experience with active travel. I wanted to find out more…
According to Wikipedia:
MAMIL is an acronym and a pejorative term for a "middle-aged man in lycra"– that is, men who ride an expensive racing bicycle for leisure, while wearing body-hugging jerseys and bicycle shorts.
Using Instagram as a source searching the hashtag #MAMIL - I found 44,221 posts embracing this term. But what they showed surprised me. After recovering from all the ‘Lycra crotch shots’ - found the images represented camaraderie amongst men. Finding joy in physical exercise, getting out in nature, and enjoying a good meal & drink. Looking further into MAMIL culture - I have learnt that cycling has been a ‘mental health life saver’ to many men in middle age - who in the rat race of life have lost their sense of joy.
The ridicule of the MAMIL stereotype could lead to a loss of empathy in drivers who share the road with this tribe. Leaving less space in passing than they would to more typical cyclists, and increasing safety risks.
The artwork uses image from instagram in an extended grid pattern to create 3D shapes of the word #MAMIL I’m interested in how the derogatory term affects the viewers impression of the images shown.
Price: £77
Datascape of Hashtag Safety Matters
Rachel Hayward
Hashtags are words or phrases preceded by the # symbol that are used to categorize tweets and make them more discoverable. The artwork aims to highlight the use of twitter hashtags to bring attention to women’s safety whilst travelling. Each colour represents the following hashtags;
#crimenotcompliment - blue
#allwomen - purple
#saraheverard - gold
#shewaswalkinghome - orange
#reclaimthesestreets – light pink
#reclaimthestreets - magenta
The bubble’s size (exponentially) represents a days’ worth of tweets. From the smallest (1 tweet) to the largest (80,000 tweets).
In total the piece covers 2 years’ worth of data from January 2021. The large bubbles ‘arrive’ in March 2021 at the beginning of Sarah’s disappearance, disrupting the existing status quo shown in the colour dataspace of the bubbles.
The artwork is generative using algorithms primarily using a physics engine called matter.js to create interactions between the bubbles. It is set up in P5JS an opensource JavaScript library used for creative coding.
Rachel is a third year PhD study where her research is focused on the role of technology in providing behavioural insights and support with respect to active travel safety.
Prior to training as a landscape architect, Rachel worked as an Engineer within the space industry working in various roles. Her current interests combine both existing computational and problem-solving skills with her love of design.
Her other interests include how data-driven methods can help the design professions achieve sustainable design. Including generative and parametric modelling, the use of AI and machine learning and crowdsourcing.
Hashtags are words or phrases preceded by the # symbol that are used to categorize tweets and make them more discoverable. The artwork aims to highlight the use of twitter hashtags to bring attention to women’s safety whilst travelling. Each colour represents the following hashtags;
#crimenotcompliment - blue
#allwomen - purple
#saraheverard - gold
#shewaswalkinghome - orange
#reclaimthesestreets – light pink
#reclaimthestreets - magenta
The bubble’s size (exponentially) represents a days’ worth of tweets. From the smallest (1 tweet) to the largest (80,000 tweets).
In total the piece covers 2 years’ worth of data from January 2021. The large bubbles ‘arrive’ in March 2021 at the beginning of Sarah’s disappearance, disrupting the existing status quo shown in the colour dataspace of the bubbles.
The artwork is generative using algorithms primarily using a physics engine called matter.js to create interactions between the bubbles. It is set up in P5JS an opensource JavaScript library used for creative coding.
Rachel is a third year PhD study where her research is focused on the role of technology in providing behavioural insights and support with respect to active travel safety.
Prior to training as a landscape architect, Rachel worked as an Engineer within the space industry working in various roles. Her current interests combine both existing computational and problem-solving skills with her love of design.
Her other interests include how data-driven methods can help the design professions achieve sustainable design. Including generative and parametric modelling, the use of AI and machine learning and crowdsourcing.
Finding My Way
Hilary Richardson
Hilary Richardson comes from a family with a tradition of home crafts. Now, although a scientist by training, she explores the artistic side of her nature in textiles. Her work is influenced by the natural world and her concern for the environment. Her preference is to use fabrics she has dyed or screen printed herself. She belongs to “By Design” (www.bydesigntextiles.co.uk) an art textile group and has exhibited internationally.
This piece is a thank you to navigational apps which have improved her ability and confidence to navigate alone both in the U.K. and abroad.
In the past when travelling to a venue to give a talk or teach a workshop her navigational aid was a piece of paper with instructions on the passenger seat. Sometimes these were inaccurate or hadn’t been updated and didn’t give details of any problems that might occur or how long the journey might take. Extra time was always allowed and the need to have a passenger (if one was available) with a map is gone.
The maps used (printed onto fabric) are from ‘The Oxford Atlas’ 1951, AA 2013 and Google Maps.
Hilary Richardson comes from a family with a tradition of home crafts. Now, although a scientist by training, she explores the artistic side of her nature in textiles. Her work is influenced by the natural world and her concern for the environment. Her preference is to use fabrics she has dyed or screen printed herself. She belongs to “By Design” (www.bydesigntextiles.co.uk) an art textile group and has exhibited internationally.
This piece is a thank you to navigational apps which have improved her ability and confidence to navigate alone both in the U.K. and abroad.
In the past when travelling to a venue to give a talk or teach a workshop her navigational aid was a piece of paper with instructions on the passenger seat. Sometimes these were inaccurate or hadn’t been updated and didn’t give details of any problems that might occur or how long the journey might take. Extra time was always allowed and the need to have a passenger (if one was available) with a map is gone.
The maps used (printed onto fabric) are from ‘The Oxford Atlas’ 1951, AA 2013 and Google Maps.
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