woman’s weekly bakeoff

A Woman’s Weekly Bake Off is a reflective biography of a woman through the eyes of her child following hours together in the kitchen. A voice for the silence and unspoken, recognition of the sacrifice made and faith in the creation of home and family.

This series has developed through a process of deconstruction and reconstruction both physically and conceptually.

I have collected old domestic objects for decades, some found in old wares shops but most gifted to me by women who navigated life as 1950s homemakers. These objects bring back memories of my childhood. I can still smell the burnt toast and the suppressed curse of my multi-tasking mother. The charcoal was scratched with a knife into the sink and the toast saved, the actions of a frugal minded person.

I photographed the objects in my kitchen where the lighting was best at 5am – pre-dawn provided a warm glow under the hanging over bench lights. The red background was initially placed as a support but became a strong contrast for the canisters and symbolised a religious context elevating the importance of the objects. This also led to the use of the word FAITH – faith in marriage.

The book dates back to 1950 when my parents were married. It was a mystery of the past full of old photos of people I mostly didn’t know. This is where the deconstructing process started as it provided a meaningful space for the kitchen photos to be contained. I was influenced by a Pat Hoffe book On the Edge where it was produced with various papers.

The selection and order of the photos tell a story of my mother through my eyes. Truth was glossed over and she had SUFFERed in silence through most of her marriage trying to hold up the dream until the marriage was eventually torn apart and TEARs flowed. At this point the ROLEs reversed and I took over the kitchen caring for her.

The canisters appear to have a sense of order about them but then I saw them as a symbol of containment. Somewhere to hide – a mask perhaps. Changing the words act as a reflection of reality.

The words came from my research into the silent generation, a 1950s Women’s Weekly article and the book Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Funder. The words were categorised into 4 areas - domestic ideals - relationship and behavioural expectations placed on women - pressure this caused and the emotional consequences.  I varied the pencil and horizon line to show a sense of drowning or keeping a lid on it.

While the works based on the cannisters explored the emotional toil placed on women, the hanging piece consisting of 9 panels on brown paper represent the repetition of the work within the kitchen space. Rubbings were made of an old baking tray and lid creating a busyness of making making. These were then coated in hot wax which then became reminiscent of waxed paper used prior to plastic wrap.

I want the viewer to feel a sense of unease by this work, initially draw them in through the warmth of nostalgia but feel curious about the language and reflective about the repetition. In many ways we still haven’t broken this gender mould.