'bit rough isn't it?'

“Bit rough isn't it?” -  is a common phrase you hear when you tell people you live in Greenstead, a council estate in Essex. The stigma of growing up on council estates was the main inspiration for creating my work. Researching into how the media and the news portrays individuals and what social housing is like, has generated passion and the fight to show 

what life is like on a council estate from insiders’ perspectives. Having discussions with family, friends and reconnecting with my community gave me the idea of showing the solidarity, strength and resilience of life there.

Using a variety of mix-media techniques of print, embroidery and patchworking, I set out to create a piece that uses materials and techniques as a metaphor to bring across this message. Using scrap materials and yarns was a way to convey the idea that just like how scraps are seen as something that is ‘useless’ and ‘discarded’ matches the negative views given to social housing communities. However, when stitched and bonded together we are a community connected with strength, resilience, and support.