' Instructions not Included' is a collaborative art project which explores women and girls’ experience of ageing. The idea emerged whilst watching women at a local aqua aerobics class, women of all ages, shapes and sizes and it got me thinking about how we think and feel about ageing.

Age isn’t always celebrated in contemporary society which values youth and beauty over accumulated wisdom and experience. The pressure on women to look young and sexy cuts across all ages and is amplified by big businesses who  profit from reinforcing women’s insecurities. Older women often feel invisible and side lined, whilst younger women face incredible pressures to have  successful careers yet still take on the majority of the domestic activities and  care of children. 

The project started in September 2023 by giving interested women old and worn swimming costumes and asking them to embellish the costume in any way that they wanted to explore some of their feelings and the assumptions that are made about ageing.

 

With an exhibition planned for May 2024  the whole project really took. Over 60  women responded individually to the call out from around the UK. Women have worked together in small groups or individually to create over 75 extraordinary contributions to the project using a variety of materials and methods.

I could  never have guessed that the project would have created such interest. What I love the most is the conversations that it has initiated and how this has led to women gathering together to create, talk, laugh, and tell each other their life stories.

 

The first exhibition is planned for 24th to 26th May 2024 at the Kit Form Gallery in Bristol and who knows where it will go after that.