Women and Children First explores the relationship between violence against women and children and the way such stories are consumed. Sexual violence, abuse, and murder have long appeared in literature, folklore, religion, crime writing, and popular culture as symbols of horror. Yet repeated exposure can transform real suffering into spectacle and narrative convention.
The work combines lino-cut insects printed onto pages from The House of Silk, a modern Sherlock Holmes reworking centred on the investigation of a paedophile ring. These are paired with imagery from an 1861 publication depicting the murder of Jael Denny, a young pregnant woman strangled by Thomas Drory. While the crime shocked Victorian society, its retelling also reveals how violence against women has been turned into public entertainment and moral theatre.
These images are deliberately juxtaposed with bridal wear, jewellery, wedding gifts, and symbols of domestic aspiration. Together they reflect the limited roles historically assigned to women: bride, wife, mother, and victim. The work asks whether society has moved beyond these narratives or simply developed new ways to package and consume them.