Daughters of the Soil
DESCRIPTION
Daughters of the Soil is a work about gender in agriculture. Over 50 colour photographs exploring issues of class, motherhood, and land ownership made in Northumberland and the Scottish Borders.
The work was produced during a residency with Maltings and Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy (CRE) and Institute for Creative Arts Practice, which enabled the artist to collaborate with Professor Sally Shortall, Duke of Northumberland Chair of Rural Economy at CRE whose research focuses on gender relations in agriculture. Women make up 28% of the farming industry in the UK and their contribution is significant but often overlooked, with underlying barriers such as access to land, class, motherhood, and lack of clear leadership roles contributing assisting to this.
Despite playing a central role in agricultural progress throughout history, documentation of female farmworkers is slim. Daughters of the Soil aims to redress this and create a powerful portrait of the role women play in contemporary farming practices.
Featuring essays from Professor Sally Shortall, and Benjamin Myers. Along with personal quotes from the women themselves. This book presents the work to the public for the first time. It accompanies exhibitions at The Gymnasium Gallery in Berwick-upon-Tweed and Vane in Newcastle. Joanne Coates is a working class photographer, interested in socially engaged methods and storytelling.