Roman Manfredi’s We/Us is an art exhibition celebrating “Butches and Studs from working-class backgrounds within the British landscape.” Co-curated by Ingrid Pollard, We/Us is the UK’s first visual art project representing gender non-conforming working-class lesbians in this way.
The solo exhibition features lens-based artist Manfredi and will be on show in East London at Space Station Sixty-Five, from March 9 – June 3, 2023. The artist-run and led space has featured lesbian-focused exhibitions before, including The Rebel Dykes Art & Archive Show in 2021.
“We/Us is an intergenerational photography and oral history project that celebrates the presence of butches and studs from working-class backgrounds within the British landscape,” according to Space Station Sixty-Five’s website. “The project explores the experience of female masculinity through the structures of class and race all over the UK, capturing our diversity as well as our commonality.
“When searching for images of butches and studs online, most that come up are from a bygone era, or from the US. Conversations around gender and identity today are often academic and London-centric, sometimes forgetting that our identities are informed by our every day lived experiences.”
We/Us combats the lack of lesbian representation, especially gender-nonconforming lesbians, in art and cultural spaces. In the exhibition, Manfredi presents 41 framed photographs with an audio installation from interviews with the participants.
“No one else is gonna do it so I’m going to do it myself,” Manfredi wrote on Instagram. “I’m incredibly proud of myself for the commitment and hard work that’s gone into creating and delivering this project to a high standard and for managing the whole project pretty much single handedly apart from the last 2 months.”
Manfredi’s work challenges problems in the art world. “I have delivered a carefully executed body of work, taking great consideration to de-colonise art institutions, challenging classism and racism and making sure everybody has been credited for their work.”
The artist advocates for the acknowledgement of working-class labour, including in art, including her own. “Now it’s time to credit myself as well and own my work. Yes my friends I am REALLY PROUD myself and the fruits that have come from the tireless commitment and hard graft that I have put in 24/7 for over a year. It is really important that working class artists are acknowledged for their labour. Big up to US.”
We/Us is on show at Space Station Sixty-Five from March 9 – June 3, 2023
