Hanecdote School of He(art) in my handwriting is framing above and below my classic skull. The left side has a pink mechanical pencil and the right side has a red skein of thread. On the skull there is a blue tear drop and a red love heart on the cheeks as well as two gold teeth.

Digital illustration of a cork board covered in paintings, photographs and illustrations. A black and white painting of an Iranian woman smoking with a yellow, red, white and black geometric pattern behind her painted by Soheila Sokhanvari, next is rows of beads forming text which reads “Lovely to hear from you - even had a dream about you… You were in the Highlands and apparently one of your jobs up there is to wait for a frog to great you. - he always arrives eventually though it can take him a while to hop” in shared of green and white. A January 2023 calendar page is next to a screenshot of Hey Arnolds Grandpa with a black cat on his head. Next is a photo of clear, green, blue and a few red shards of sea glass.Next is a heavily embroidered top in traditional Indian gold work with pink and green sequins and stones. In the centre is a Hew Locke artwork of a map of the African continent, painted with colourful puzzle pieces on top of a colonial document. A black and white advertisement for Arnos Grove Underground Station. Bubble text of 2023 vertically written in pink, orange and yellow. A black pennant with Republic of Guyana text and the country outlined in glittery paint or industries and landmarks in the country. An SOS NHS red poster with an ambulance in the middle coloured in yellow and green matching the text. A film strip illustration representing Uncle Sunil and finally a historical painting zoomed in of a 1500s/1600s rich woman with arms with embroidered with flowers and a detailed corset.

January 2023

Happy New Year! Happy Birthday to Uncle Sunil, RIP youre so so missed. Happy Birthday to Mollie! Happy Birthday Kate! Some special people to me.

On the first of January I bought the international ancestry.co.uk membership so I can look at census’ and other archive document to trace and put together my family tree. Its a lifelong project and I want to compile as much information as possible. That is much easier on my paternal side because they are of european descent and as ive mentioned before, colonialism, racism, classism impact how archives are created and preserved. The journey will be more of a challenge for my maternal family as theyre are Guyanese but originally Indian, colonised people, but with a family wedding later this year I will be equipped with a notebook. To start that journey me and Josh went to see my mum’s parents and I asked Nan to write down all her siblings names and year of birth, as well as her parents and their siblings, as well as jobs they did. It was great to sit down and get some information I thought may be out of reach to be able to fill some gaps already.

Continuing fro the massive strike action last year with workers across the rail and transport sector, firefighters and posties, they have been joined by nurses, emergency services workers and teachers. Some people reported waiting over 24 hours for an ambulance, 40,000 nurses quit last year because of quality of life. The Tory government have cut off chunks of the NHS for the past 12 years, selling contracts to their rich friends or private investors from the states or elsewhere. On the 5th of July 1948 a National Health Service was introduced and the Torys are doing their best to kill it off before it turns 100. Sajid Javid people should pay £20 for GP appointment and £66 to visit the Accidents and Emergency but we already pay for those in our taxes. These greedy politicians use private healthcare, private education and steal from the peopledem. All people striking have my full support especially those in the NHS who do their best to care for us and they need to be paid a proper living wage. The thought of living without the NHS is a terrifying thought for my disabled self and I already cant stand that people anywhere in the world has to pay for healthcare.

Just this month the England and Wales 2021 Census data was shared and it was the first time information about gender and sexuality was recorded in the UK Census. You could even see by area on a digital map what the queer population of each part of the country is. “Around 748,000 described themselves as gay or lesbian, while 624,000 said they are bisexual. The number of people who are attracted to more than one gender - bisexual and pansexual - is nearly the same as those who are gay or lesbian”. It just feels pretty amazing to see us recorded in history, able to identify ourselves on our own terms. I look at Census’ in my Genealogy search and its so important to preserving history and recording evidence of our existence.

I got to see quite a bit of art this month which was soul enriching and just how I needed to start the year, especially as Ive been experiencing discomfort with my artistic practice recently. I have a great opportunity that has come up and its been a struggle throughout the making progress, knocking my confidence and almost spiralling me into more depression, so I just really needed some creative energy and inspiration. I was lucky enough to see Hew Locke’s The Procession, a commission for Tate Britain, as well as seeing my friend Kate’s artwork in the Outside In - Humanity exhibition at Sotheby’s and finally Soheila Sokhanvari’s exhibition Rebel Rebel at Barbican. Keep reading below to see some great, meaningful artworks.

Finally I just wanted to give a shoutout to Ahmed Mohamed, who was my classmate from 11-16 (when I actually attended school and wasnt bunking). He was always so smart and hilarious, and in 2021 he became the first Black winner of Countdown. Not only that but this month he won Champions of Champions against some incredible, intelligent contestants and even though Ive not seen him in a decade Im really proud of him and just think its so legendary.

A flyer from when the NHS was founded. “THE NEW NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE Your new National Health Service begins on 5th July. What is it? How do you get it? It will provide you with all medical, dental, and nursing care. Everyone rich or poor, man, woman or child- can use it or any part of it. There are no charges, except for a few special items. There are no insurance qualifications. But it is not a «charity" You are all paying for it, mainly as taxpayers, and it will relieve your money worries in time of illness.”

Walton-on-the-Naze

Three photos of golden hour at the beach under the pier. The sun is creating stripes of shade from the wooden structure holding up the pier. A strip of blue is in the distance a mixture of the sea and the sky.

We needed some fresh air and to get me out of the house so thankfully we got to go visit my aunt by the seaside for a night the first week of the year. Pretty much as soon as we got there me, mum and dad went to the beach. It was golden hour and perfect for looking for sea glass which has been made soft and smooth over years of crashing waves and water crashing. Nature is incredible and powerful. We walked towards the pier and as the sun was shining through the wooden structure, and the wave crashed against the beach and the blue sky, i felt pure happiness and calm. It was just a beautiful moment, with the tranquil pools of water and stunning golden sunlight. Most of the glass we found was clear, then green was the second most common. I said to myself I hope I find some brown glass and then suddenly I did!! Also found a red one which felt like a super rare and precious ruby. As we walked back up to the road, i felt my hips crunching and locking up in a horrible pain. I got scared but didnt want to turn back to make the journey back even longer, so I just took it step by step slowly. While on the beach I could almost forget my pain because of focussing on looking for glass and hearing the sound of the waves, with the wind blowing around us, it was meditative. But I was really scared and in pain after climbing 20+ steps, with 20+ more to go and took it slowly downhill on the way back to my Aunt’s. Took it easy the rest of the evening watching films together. The next day before we drove home we went for another walk on the beach this time joined by my Aunt for a slightly less successful glass hunt. It is always lovely seeing her, the beach and her furry cats Pickle and Pumpkin.

Square photograph of a white kitchen roll covered with glass softened by the waves. Half the glass shards are clear or light blue, the bottom right corner has 15 bright green shards, the top right corner has darker and light shades of green. There are two brown pieces and one red.

Photo of large spaces with stone columns and domed roof. A parade of statues of people are spread out holding flags and banners, as well as drums. There are toddlers, men, women, horses and jaguar people.

A zoomed in photo of fabric which is printed with a collage of colonial financial papers, a Rastafarian gold lion, a poster for Castara Estates and coffee plantation in Tobago made of an illustrated skull, next to colonial certificate and etchings of figures with horses and camels surrounded by red, yellow and green pen.

A more zoomed out photo of a statue in The Procession, the details that stand out is a flag with a small wooden house built on stilts with greenery around the ground. A woman’s dress is also printed with a different wooden home on stilts in Guyana.

A zoomed in photo of a child mannequin wheelchair user, with a mask made of cardboard with leaves and flowers wearing fake fur and a suit. The wheelchair wheels are solid and coloured dark yellow with black and white patterns all over.

A zoomed in photo of a statue wearing a suit from the back with a fabric patch printed with winston churchill statue covered in colourful illustrations. The background is colourful patchwork and flags.

The last time I was at Tate Britain was March 2022 going to see the Life Between Islands exhibition with my cousin Gina, I asked a staff member about where I could find Hew Locke’s commission. It wasnt being installed in the gallery until a couple days later, so I thought to myself that I hope I get the chance to see it over the course of the next year. I guess those months passed me by and I started to see 2 week countdowns from Hew Locke’s instagram. It made me sad and I accepted that I would likely miss it as I dont have the energy to go to be quite honest. Fast forward to friday, my dad and brother are round the corner from Tate Britain and quickly stopped by to have a look around. They were confronted by this colourful artwork filling a large long space, they walked around marvelling at all the details and wondered what it was about and to their surprise they saw Georgetown, Guyana printed on fabric in front of them. Dad sent a photo to the family chat and I said how I wish I couldve seen it in person but had accepted I would miss it. He came home with a Faith Ringgold 2023 calendar and some Hew Locke postcards and notebook and said I have to see the artwork and that he’ll drive us to see it on its last day! So blessed. It was truly so beautiful, sad, angering, inspiring, impressive and powerful. The impact of this artwork and how it filled the space was undeniable. I was obsessed with all the different materials and techniques used, including patchwork, fabric printing, pearls, cardboard, plaiting, metal, wood, rope and bamboo. Every colour of the rainbow was seen throughout the work.

From Tate’s website “The Procession invites visitors to ‘reflect on the cycles of history, and the ebb and flow of cultures, people and finance and power.’ Tate Britain’s founder was art lover and sugar refining magnate Henry Tate. In the installation Locke says he ‘makes links with the historical after-effects of the sugar business, almost drawing out of the walls of the building,’ also revisiting his artistic journey so far, including for example work with statues, share certificates, cardboard, rising sea levels, Carnival and the military.

Throughout, visitors will see figures who travel through space and time. Here, they carry historical and cultural baggage, from evidence of global financial and violent colonial control embellished on their clothes and banners, alongside powerful images of some of the disappearing colonial architecture of Locke’s childhood in Guyana.”

A photo of a model of a horse covered in yellow paper/fabric, the main is plaited fabric in yellow, green and red.

A photo of a patchwork dress with a large train in blue, yellow and green underneath with printed maps of Africa with colonial paperworks and emblems illustrated on top.

A zoomed in photo of a figure wearing a suit with a skeleton holding an orange snake. The sleeves of the suit jacket are made from strips of fabric attached together.

A photo of a tent like structure standing tall, a collage of fabric printed with photos and illustrations of Georgetown in Guyana, queen elizabeth II, a Chinese government contract, people gathering in protest.

Hew Locke’s The Procession at Tate Britain

BBC Make It At Market

If like me, you love heritage crafts and seeing people flourish, you’ll love this new show on BBC called Make It At Market. It is hosted by Dom a skilled craftsperson from The Repair Shop, another show I have mentioned in my previous newsletters. The premise of the show is to support makers who have hand skills to be able to make money from the creativity they love, whether its stone carving, woodwork, painting, ceramics or textiles. Each of these makers are paired up with a profession who guides and advises them in the creative realm as well as business, and on top of that they give each person an amazing opportunity they the show has set up for them. Its a great whole some premise which seems to go above and beyond to support these makers. The show is filmed at Stoneywell Cottage, a throwback to my June 2021 newsletter, as the first National Trust property we visited since the beginning of the pandemic. This property is in the Arts and Crafts style, it valued natural materials and craftsmanship which fits absolutely perfectly with the theme of the TV show. Maybe Im biased but my mentor Sharon Walters from the Beyond Boundaries project is a mentor on this show and Ive gotten emotional watching her treat the artists with such care, knowledge and focus. One of the artist lacked in confidence and she helped to build her up just like with me, it makes me so so proud to know her. Check out a trailer below, its definitely worth a watch if you like creativity.

Scan of magazine Design For Today August 1933 showing black and white photos of interior and exteriors of Enfield West Station, Southgate Station, Arnos Grove Station, Wood Green station and Turnpike lane. There is a plan of Enfield West from birds eye view. The text reads ”ENFIELD WEST STATION (3 and 4). The station building is placed at right angles to the railway track and is carried across the platforms, the space between the retaining wall on cach side of the open railway track governing the length of the hall. The irregularly shaped forecourt gives a draw-in for buses and a large parking place for cars. An umbrella shaped shelter supports a mast sign in a good position for publicity on the road frontage. The island platform has double cantilever roofs in steel and concrete and an attempt has been made to bring all the various, and usually discordant, elements into harmonious association. SOUTHGATE STATION (§ and 6) has a circular booking hall on an island site with a crescent of shops forming a background. These shops are still incomplete. The platforms are in a tunnel and are served by escalators ARNOS GROVE STATION (7 and 8) is again in open cutting. The wide bridge on one side of the station and the car park on the other, and the general openness of the site gave an opportunity for greater freedom in handling. The circular booking hall was felt to be the most suitable form externally to counter the big fall in the roadway, while the strong horizontal baseline was influenced by the parapet wall of the bridge. From the bridge on the opposite side of the road will be seen the sub-station grouped with the signal cabin and stall accommodation. WOOD GREEN STATION (g) is a tunnel station with a surface booking hall placed along a curved road frontage which governs the shape of the booking hall. A very steep fall in the roadway added greatly to the difficulty of designing this station. TURNPIKE LANE STATION (10) is another tunnel station with escalators. The booking hall is partially below ground, expressing the gradual ascent of the stations to the surface as we leave the congested areas. Externally the booking hall has been planned to be visible from many points of view at this important crossing and advantage has been taken of a large ventilating tower for greater publicity. A subway leads from the booking hall to staircases and small tramway islands and shelters designed in rein• forced concrete to give shelter to the passenger waiting for trams with a minimum of obstruction. A public lavatory has been designed as part of the station group and occupies one side of the large car park at the rear of the station.”

Seeing as I used my beloved public transport I figured I might as well share some local architectural history with my newsletter subscribers. I ended my journey at Arnos Grove, which is a tube station on the Piccadilly line, almost at the end of its most northern end of the line in Enfield. This part of the Piccadilly line was extended in 1932/33 under the architect Charles Holden, who designed over 50 Tube Stations. In the 30s when these stations were being built they would have been cutting edge, bright spaces with integrated shops and further transport links. I believe Southgate (the next stop north) is the perfect example of Holden’s design ethos of a sleek tube station, combined with shop fronts and the bus station too, but visiting Arnos Grove is always a treat for a lover of TfL and public transport history. Holden mostly used bricks with Crittall windows, bronze details and uplighting. Here is a photo I took of the spacious rotund ticket hall alongside a photograph my Grandpa Noel took of the exterior in the 60s or 70s way before we even lived around here. I also found a really cool scan of a magazine called Design For Today from 1933.

A landscape photo my Grandpa Noel took in the 60s/70s of the outside of Arnos Grove station. The bottom of the building is squared with straight edges mostly made up of windows, and the top is a circular shape with bricks and windows. TfL roundel sign is above the entrance.

A portrait photograph of the inside ticket hall, it is a circular tall room with a central column and booth in the centre. Ticket machines are on the outside of the the circular space with large windows surrounded by brick. There is uplighting and a tiled floor.

Photo of a textile banner in an exhibition. A blue squarish rectangle is landscape and has the design of subtle waves of water. On the surface is embroidery, felt and beads. The text made of beads reads “Lovely to hear from you - even had a dream about you - you were in the highlands and apparently one of your jobs up there is to wait for a frog to greet you - he always arrives eventually, though it can take him a while to hop. In shades of green, white and black. Its hanging on a sturdy wooden branch. A figure is sitting o a giant lily pad looking up into the sky. Three smaller lily pads are behind her with lilies made of ribbons in yellow, pink, purple and orange.

Zoomed in photo of the artwork showing lily pads with edges covered in different red beads. The lily pads are green felt with some green bead details. There are glimpses of beaded text panels and lilies made of ribbons pink, yellow and purple.

I went to go see my friend’s artwork at Sotheby’s in Central London on its last day before it goes on tour nationally! Its my first time going on a solo art adventure in a long while, I cant remember the last time but it was something I used to love. I had my itinerary prepared the night before and was feeling so excited to have a look around my home city. The morning comes along with the anxiety and lowkey agoraphobia. Suddenly London feels so so far away and I cant envision leaving my house, and I may not have if Kate didnt have an ice cream sandwich waiting for me at her house 😂

So I headed to Sotheby’s where Outside In began the national tour of their Humanity exhibition. Outside In is a charity who want to help provide a platform and opportunities for artists who have been excluded from the art world due to health, disability, isolation and social circumstances with development, exhibitions and training. The exhibition showcased artists with Learning Disabilities, Physical Disabilities, Neurodivergency and Mental Illness. I felt so proud to see such talent and creative expression displayed so beautifully. There was lots of paintings, drawings, some textiles and soft sculpture as well as ceramics and more.

The artwork I specifically went to see was by my friend Kate Rolison called Catching Flies. I was lucky to see her working on this before the show and was so proud to hear when she was accepted because she just put so much effort and detail into the work. It is inspired by a dream her best friend had and relates to healing after mental health crisis. She used a variety of textiles techniques and beadwork throughout, I particularly love the lotus flowers made of ribbons as well as the text panels made of beads. Kate’s work is inspired by nature, dreams and mental health and this piece combines all of the above.

Outside In: Humanity exhibition at Sotheby’s

Photo of choli (Indian top) detail with blue and gold embellishment, the neckline is covered with a more detailed border with sequins and beads. The background fabric is blue blended into pink.

Photo of lehnga (Indian skirt) detail with gold and blue embroidery work with sequins and beads border on pink fabric.

I will never ever ever get bored of how textiles is portrayed in historical painted portraits. These are all ranging from 1500s-1600s at Tate Britain in their free collection. Most were unknown artists painting rich and/or powerful women. It never make sense to me how textiles can be painted in such a way that looks so soft, or shiny or see-through, it just blows my mind. The garments are so interesting in a historical and style context but also the detail is so impressive to me as an embroiderer. I look at the paintings and not only think about the painters talents but also the skills of the embroiderers who dedicated hundreds of hours of work (by candle-light btw) to making such a beautiful dress. I think of the lace makers, the silk makers, the dressmakers. I’ll never tire of textiles and all the beauty (and so much more) it has to offer.

Photo of choli detail, hot pink fabric under layer, with gold swirling pattern with green and pink flowers in thread, gems and sequins. More gold sequins are scattered across the pink fabric.

Photo of lengha detail, bright dark green fabric background with a pinkish gold ribbon border at the bottom, embellished with gold sequins and pink and green gems.

Zoomed in photo of a historical painting of a rich womans garment. Her top is heavily embroidered with grape vine like plants in goldwork, she has pearls around the bodice and her wrist. Her hand is holding a feathered fan. Her skirt is red with the same grape vine design just less covered than the top.

Zoomed in detail of a historical painting of a womans skirt. The top layer is black and white stripes with embroidered details, where the two halves of the top layer split at the front, a nature scene is on the fabric with a golden trim.

Zoomed in photo of a historical painting of a rich woman in red jewelled long sleeve dress with a black velvet and heavily embroidered boarder in gold swirling designs. One hand is holding a locket which is hanging, the other hand is touching the necklace she is wearing.

A zoomed in photo of a historical painting of a rich womans dress in brown silk with pleats and layers. The bodice has copper floral details on the fabric which matches ( the skirt. A hand is holding a lace handkerchief. There are pearls drooping from the neckline and around her wrists.

Zoomed in photo of a historical painting of a rich womans dress. The bottom layer is black with gold floral embroidery, on top is a deep pink silk layer with subtle gold details and a very thin sheer layer is also depicted barely visible.

Historical painting of a rich womens dress with silk, embroidered sleeves, red corset, gold jewellery and details with ruffly sleeves.

Zoomed in detail of a historical painting of a womans sleeve with incredible pearl details on both the fabric and bodice. A lace collar is around her neck.

Zoomed in photo of a historical painting of a skirt with minimal details or embellishment other than a long ling of buttons down the front. The dress is made of white silk which is beautifully portrayed by minimal brush strokes of white.

Photo of ‘The Woman in the Mirror’, – portrait of Fereshteh Jenabi (actor), 2021. A detailed mirror is in the centre of the painting with a woman’s reflection looking back. The floor and background is colourful patterned rug, tiles and curtain.

‘Rebel’ a photo of a painted portrait of Zinat Moadab, 2021 smoking a cigarette in a black and white stripy thin knit top by Soheila Sokhanvari in black and white. the background is geometric triangular strips of red, black, yellow and white.

Photo of ‘Still, I Rise’ (Portrait of Shahla Riahi), 2021. The figure is mostly painted in monochrome except for red lipstick and nails, and brown hair. She sits behind a full vase of beautiful flowers in blue, pink, red, yellow, white and green. The vase is black and white triangles and blue. The table has an embroidered cover in terracotta, black and white. Behind is a blue pattern and light fitting next to a green velvet curtain.

Im not sure how long I have been a fan of Soheila Sokhanvari but in 2018 I co-curated a project called LDN WMN and she was one of the artist I chose to make an artwork for the city wide project. Her artwork celebrated Marion Dorn who was one of the early designers of London underground moquette seat fabric, was displayed at Victoria Station. I was so excited to see she has a solo show Rebel Rebel at Barbican. Barbican is an iconic brutalist estate which has so many amazing design details and so I was looking forward to going anyway let alone to see art. This exhibition showcases and celebrates feminist icons from pre-revolutionary Iran (1925 - 1979) in beautifully detailed miniature portraits. Soheila’s attention to detail, how she portrays patterns on both fabric and tiles is incredible and bold, drawing from Islamic patterns and Arts and Crafts style, William Morris designs. The exhibition space was covered in geometric shapes running across the floor and up the walls, where the patterns came together, at intervals were small framed jewels on portraiture. At the end of the curved space was a large star installation with a projection of an Iranian singer, light is fragmenting off it and onto the floor and walls. The subjects of these portraits are women who were singers, actresses, a writer, a poet, a gymnast and a ballerina and are so important in light of the recent protests for women’s rights under the Regime. Read more in the i-D article.

Photo of ‘The Dancing Queen’ (Portrait of Jamileh), 2019. The figure is looking at the viewer, skin ton monochrome but wearing a bright yellow top and yellow tartan. Shes sitting on a red chair. Behind her is tropical plants including tall and short cacti and other leafy foliage.

Photo of ‘Memories of You’ (Portrait of Delkash), 2019. The figure is painted in monochrome wearing a red floral dress with dark background. She is sat in front of a terracotta pot with a leafy ivy like plant which grows out of frame. Left half of the work is a night sky with half a mood and tiled floor at the bottom. The right side is an outside scene with a sun and hot landscape of desert with two types of cacti.

Soheila Sokhanvari’s Rebel Rebel at Barbican

Photo of a white mosaic floor from above with The Fighting Cocks (name of the pub) written in black tiles.

Photo of a public artwork of 12 red phone boxes falling like dominoes. Its night and the street lights are shining on them in the middle of a pedestrian road.

Half blurry photo of Kingston train station design which is a mosaic of a person holding a bunch of flowers and a recycling tote bag.

Photo of tiles in Vauxhall station in blue, black and green shapes in squares, circles, semi circles, diagonal stripes and rectangles.

Fern Brady is a comedian from Scotland who after being on the most recent season of Taskmaster (me and besties fav show) we became lowkey obsessed with her. Not in a parasocial way just in a I wanna support this person way. She’s Autistic and bisexual and used to be a stripper so I just feel like shes a comrade. Shes hilarious and we got tickets to see her perform in Kingston (South London) although we didnt realise it was s showcase with a handful of other comedians. Im very sensitive to most things these days, stand up comedy is no different, but either it was the weed or most of them were decent and i had a good few laughs.

I cant lie i found the evening to be quite stressful, I just hadnt left the house without my parents in a while, having to navigate on transport on the opposite side of London to what I know was a challenge. We ended up getting on the wrong train, thankfully not to outside of London but then got an uber to the venue. It just sucks to not have confidence in myself and being able to navigate where I used to be happy to adventure and explore by myself. We had time for a spliff and catch up and then into the show.

Here are some tourist photos I took in my home city because as much anxiety as I had the change of scenery and company was much needed.

@pickleandpumpkin20 on instagram

photo of a big fluffy white cat looking up at the camera a bit cross eyed sat on a fold out chair. He has dark grey patches on his ears eyebrow and nose.

Photo of a cream/light orange fluffy cat sitting on a gold wicker chair with a dandelion pillow behind him.

Photo of Mew, tortoiseshell cat on my duvet (in the foreground) with my embroidery art on shelves on the wall behind.

Photo of Ginger cat sitting on top of a wooden bench which is resting on its side (to avoid snow) he is catching the evening sun in the garden.

A dark grey background which matches the bottom border. My bubble hand writing which says “Thanks for Reading” in a pink, orange and yellow gradient with pink hearts and sparkles around it. A skull has hearts coming out the eyes in three shades of pink, with happy tears falling from them.

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Hanecdote · 99 Homewillow Close · London, London N21 2HJ · United Kingdom