I am a student of the MA Print, working across many aspects of print and other media ,and also experimenting with print in ceramics.
The premise of this project was to highlight the extent of withdrawal of funds from Legal Aid in this country with the aim of prompting discussion in the wider world. I had recently become very aware that a system that was once the envy of the world, was considerably less Just than in the past. It no longer gave normal people adequate access to funding for legal issues, which is creating a significant and alarming imbalance in power. Legislation (LASPO) that was passed in 2012, is responsible for much of this.
In addition, speaking with people within the political and legal system, it seemed that the issues with justice are rarely voiced or resolved because it isn’t seen as something that focus groups aligned with. The aim was to highlight what is going on and to hopefully create debate in the wider world, and through this underline how the failures are affecting all aspects of society. The aim ultimately is to force change in the current system.
Highlighting these issues through art and underlining how our freedoms are being compromised seemed a positive use of time. I chose to work on the numbers, because they are so stark: people's stories are equally stark, but how do you create consciousness when there are so many stories. Sometimes it is worth letting the numbers speak for themselves.
A recent fracture sadly means my final degree work has been deferred to 2025. However, this doesn't mean that either my practice or our Justice project will stop - we view How Just is Justice? as a project to continue past the deadline of the task, and to hopefully outlast our time at the RCA. If we can access funding we will take it around England and Wales, possibly gathering more work as we go.
