Sylvia Pankhurst’s War Belt

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Artist: Joanna Rogers

Title: Sylvia Pankhurst’s War Belt

Attribution: Sylvia Pankhurst's War Belt. 2024. Joanna Rogers

Year: 2024

Materials: Mercerized cotton thread dyed with logwood, pomegranate, myrobalan, weld, marigold on velvet.

Dimensions: 40" x 20"

Image Statement: Inspired by paleolithic string skirts and Incan quipus, this war belt contains the entire poem Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll in morse code. The dots and dashes are represented by small and large knots. Each thread represents a letter in the poem. Sylvia Pankhurst was a prominent British suffragette and was imprisoned several times for her direct action for this cause. She was an artist, writer and editor. She supported trade unions and working women, was a founding member of the British Communist Party, was a pacifist and anti-fascist, lending her support to Ethiopia after Italy, under Mussolini, invaded the country.