Jess de Wahls

[Mollyollydolly]

The Royal Academy have removed Jess' work from their shop due to a handful of complaints that she's 'transphobic'. If you want to support Jess her website is here.
www.jessdewahls.com
So sick of these utterly craven organisations. I hope she has a legal case against them for discrimination.

Nice one Jess. She's extremely courageous, I'm in awe of her.

I hope she does one with the RA logo and a hand...

Featured in Fame and Fortune in the Sunday Times Money section today

Jess de Wahls: ‘There’s been a massive spike in demand. Just about all my stock has gone’.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0283d5c2-db2d-11eb-a2c2-c6b14b84b2dd?shareToken=318e8c4db5ad233118cf31de32375f855_

Loving Jess’s response to all of this, and I am so pleased that she has seen such a spike in demand

I’ve signed up as a Patron, and I fully intend to buy some of her work in a month or two when she’s had a chance to get on top of things!

She was amazing speaking to Meghan Murphy recently- I highly recommend a listen, and if you don’t come out with a thumping girlcrush on Jess after this, then are you even alive?!

www.feministcurrent.com/2021/06/24/podcast-jess-de-wahls-cant-be-cancelled/

Lovely piece in The Times, especially her favourite charities!

Anyone know what the lead time currently is on direct orders? Ordered from stock rather than pre-ordered.

A great article and nice to see FPFW get a mention which might help fill their coffers

I started doing my patches as a sideline to encourage people not to throw away their old clothes — by creating something beautiful to give them a new lease of life

I love this.

I bet the TRAs are fuming that they have shot themselves in the foot. Love to see a nice Streisand Effect.

They never see it that way though. Quite a display of wilful display of misrepresenting what’s clear for everyone else.

@KellyWhite2

Hi there somebody told me my rather simple sketch has been well received and I’ve not been in here in an age (used to be under the name NaviSprite 😅) but if anybody wants to use the image anywhere please feel free to do so! I’m glad people like it 😳

You need to trademark it, sent shivers x

The whole to-do has been covered by the museums journal. That's read by most people who work in museums or galleries. There are 2 articles. One saying the gallery had withdrawn her stock, which links to the blog
www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2021/06/artist-demands-apology-in-ra-transphobia-row/

And a follow up when they apologised.
www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2021/06/royal-academy-apologises-to-artist-after-transphobia-row/

They are both quite straight forward, non inflammatory balanced explanations. They both set out what happened, then give some quotes and opinions from Jdw's side and from trans activists, ending with a quote in support of jess.

I bet the TRAs are fuming that they have shot themselves in the foot.

They don't have the self awareness for this.

My order has arrived and it's beautiful!

Glad to hear that Jess's work is back in stock in the RA shop.

https://shop.royalacademy.org.uk/patch-dahlia-pink-red?refSrc=33285&nosto=nosto-also-bought

When you Google there is what appears to be an archived page which says "not for web" which has a much longer description of Jess' feminism. I imagine they took this down when they removed her work.

https://shop.royalacademy.org.uk/patch-orange-tulip

Originally from Berlin, De Wahls has quickly established her name as the ‘Enfant Terrible Of British Textile Arts’.
She tackles subjects as wide ranging as Feminism, Misogyny & Fetishism combined with creative textile recycling in her prolific output.
Jess creates highly intricate embroideries as well as hand-sewn relief portraits from up- cycled clothing, a technique for which she has coined the term ‘Retex Sculpture’.
Supporting female liberation, while critically exploring contemporary Feminism and embracing recycling and reuse are paramount to her practice.
Her extensive body of work has been exhibited and sold internationally, featured online as well as in print.
In addition to her own practice, Jess also acts as mentor to the finalists of the prestigious Hand & Lock London Embroidery Prize and teaches her very own style of contemporary embroidery in national and international workshops.

The new description has the bits about feminism taken out. Interesting.

On one hand - you want to buy her work to show the RA what idiots they were - but on the other hand don’t want to give them a single penny...

What happened to their comms manager?

Only three beautiful but uncontroversial items as far as I can see, would rather buy from Jess's website than give the RA any of my money....

www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-i-was-stitched-up-by-the-royal-academy

To add to all the supportive press coverage she's been getting. Been going on for quite a while now hasn't it . Wonder which institution are still be listening to the mob

There is a wee mention of Jess in Waldemar Januszczak's article about the effect of Covid and cancel culture on the art world in the Times today:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/48037d74-df4b-11eb-b3d5-485ebee7ab7d?shareToken=c1281ed44a53476d7ffc032e965255c2