The Homefront Project (2020/2021)
Homefront is a ground-breaking, collaborative photographic project, which records the lived experiences of women living in Britain, amidst a rhetoric of the 'war on Covid19'. 
The images are intentionally styled in an original and uplifting way, contrasting the lives of women today with that of their 1940s counterparts. In depth personal accounts accompany the images, highlighting issues and raising questions about how Covid19 has and will continue to impact the lives of women.
Issues explored include the gender pay gap, domestic violence, post-natal trauma and the disproportionate amount of unpaid work done by women. The intention is to shine a light on these issues to effect societal change and see future women’s lives improved.
The photographic project has been a collaborative endeavor across multiple communities, with women from varied socio economic, educational and ethnic backgrounds all volunteering time and energy to make this substantial and empowering body of work.
The project preview was exhibited at Bournemouth University, Atrium Gallery from 9th Nov 2020 until 26th Jan 2021* The project is currently paused, with the intention to expand at publish at a later date.
According to recent studies by Women’s Budget Group, Queen Mary University of London and the London School of Economics, mothers in couples were over one-and-a-half times more likely to report doing the majority of childcare during school and nurseries closures. 61.6% of single mothers said they had struggled to go to the shops due to their children being at home and 63% of disabled women struggled to shopping, including medicines. The huge rise in domestic violence and sexual violence since lockdown began has been very evident, for example UK’s largest domestic abuse charity, Refuge, has reported a 700% increase in calls to its helpline in a single day (The Guardian). The statistics for poverty, workload, mental health and disproportionate challenges faced by BAME communities are also shocking and too numerous to list.
• Exhibition funded by support from 
Charlotte
“ I felt overwhelmed during lockdown but through the difficult days I have actually rediscovered the neighbourhood where I live, time just to “be” with my children and most importantly myself. I’m not saying it was a good thing, but I always try and look for the positive in every situation.
The fact that the government has fucked up is blatantly obvious. The whole system is broken and I’m angry about it. This year has shown us plenty of examples of the system failing: billionaires making money during lockdown whilst others lost their livelihoods; BLM protests highlight a system of oppression that continues today; and women largely baring the brunt of extra work in the home to name just three.”
Stacey
“Life wasn’t meant to be a walk in the park. Life throws you curve balls. Lockdown life taught me how to become a warrior - I had no choice, I had to fight for survival in business, love and life for myself and my boys.
The important thing is to embrace the “here and now” - appreciate what’s right in front of you and dare greatly to transform the way you live, love, parent and lead.”
Mary
“I gave birth in May. I could not fault the hospital at all. Obviously, I had read about the guidelines and knew that my husband wouldn´t have been allowed in unless I was in established labour.
I found it a bit more difficult than with my first child, as she had silent reflux. At first I didn´t know what it was. I´d never dealt with it before, and so I felt my mental health kind of slipping down, because when I was worried about her.
I was then thinking ‘this virus has taken so much from me, I can’t go out and see friends. Luckily, I had a really good health visitor, who would call me and see how I was doing. It was like being a 1940s housewife, in the house and looking after the baby all day, and trying to educate the older child, cooking meals, even baking things, keeping on top of the housework, those kind of things. I liked baking with my daughter, but I missed a lot of normal things, the baby shower for example and not seeing my mum, who lives in the north of England.
We did go up and get to see my family, once they said that you could travel, which was so nice. The baby was ten weeks by the time I got to go up north but it was still nice that my family could finally meet her.”