To find out more about our interviews for #IWD2020 head to art-hub.co.uk/post/international-women-s-day-interviews
Becky Nuttall is an artist and poet based in Torbay. Coming from an artistic and literary background, she often incorporates mixed media elements of childhood materials and student works into final pieces to reflect on her heritage, as well as adding references to religious iconography that replicate the paintings in her convent school.
We asked Becky about how issues of gender have influenced her work and how coming from an artistic family has shaped her outlook.
I am one of four sisters and I was educated in a girls' school. I consciously refer to this and the influence of female artists. Though I am fairly autonomous when it comes to role models, I admire and I am influenced by female artists, especially feminist artists of the sixties and seventies. They speak for their experience and I speak for mine. I have a Facebook page called The Longing and the Lack honouring lost female artists of the avant garde. Because I am female, I am proud to reference this in my art and writing.
Do you think you have faced barriers as a female artist that you wouldn’t have otherwise?
No, I don't compare myself or think about my status in this way. I was treated equally by my father who was an artist and was not told to expect less.
Do you celebrate international women´s day in any special way?
I have performed poetry on International Women's Day. I support the day but would rather it wasn't necessary to make it a 'special' day.