Disciple, 2024 - 26.

Disciple explores the dignity of women’s labour through daily rituals of making and performances inspired by collaborations with women who work in the fishery (primarily) in Newfoundland and Scotland. These daily rituals have become the basis for two new performances and a new video work building on the relationship between three foundational ideas: discipline, disciple and dignity. These words all share the Proto Indo-European root “dek,” which means “to take in or accept.”  Disciple is grounded in these words and the notion that taking in or acceptance can be empowering rather than passive. I am especially interested in how this relates to women and our work. Can we free the word discipline from its punitive connotations and embrace what it offers with ease? Is that not dignity? How can I embody this dignity - as made visible by women working in the fishery - in my own work?  

Disciple has roots in my project, Jinker, which initiated a relationship with women working in the fishery around Newfoundland but shifts attention towards their steady discipline and the dignity of their labour. Together with them, I created opportunities for story sharing and conversations about their work, communities, and how they have brought meaning to labour that is difficult and sometimes dangerous. Alongside this, I enacted daily rituals of needlework, drawing and creative writing inspired by their stories and related to work and labouring. In this way, I became their student - their disciple - highlighting and honouring their steadiness and their devotion to each other, their families and their work.

Disciple has been funded, in part, by a project grant from ArtsNL and the Our Creative Home initiative supported by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and delivered by Municipalities NL and Business & Arts NL.