PURPOSE

We Design For The Community

Photographs captured for the Helios Centre, a charity supporting individuals living with HIV and other chronic illnesses.

'We Design For The Community' is a programme that connects cultural and community organisations in need of communications assistance with design students. Supported by the Mayor of London, 2024.

Under the Threshold

In this collection of photos and short interviews, Talitha Thomas-Kelly explores the value of personal spaces within the experience of womanhood. She offers us insight into the woman ‘unwatched’, capturing the reflections of her subjects on the walls, floors and ceilings of their rooms.

“The threshold marks a barrier, and crossing this invites me into a void of vulnerability… there are so many contrasts within a space: order and disorder, realism and surrealism. All of it makes sense solely to the individual.”

Excerpt from Scissor Magazine - (Digital)

Name

First Name

Last Name

Message

This form is for wxmen and non-binary interest only.

Under the Threshold is an ongoing project that seeks to highlight the value of personal spaces within the multifaceted experience of wxmanhood.

For a long time, a door’s threshold has represented a barrier to vulnerability and significant change. For women in particular, this barrier has often existed beyond their control. This is why, upon entering their spaces, I cross under the threshold, not over it. I am interested in how these women have adapted their rooms to meet their needs and how the walls, floors, and ceilings reflect the use they make of their environment.

Outside of these private spaces, women are disadvantaged, undermined, and oppressed. While these rooms should not be assumed to be hiding places, they do offer privacy and respite. They allow women to express themselves, to create, and to plot.

My research began in London, where space has become a privilege due to rising costs. So far, my contacts have led me to the bedrooms of young women aged 18-25, but I want to expand beyond bedrooms and explore bedsits, studios, offices, garages, and other hybrid spaces. I aim to cross generational lines and better represent the ethnic diversity of women in other growing UK cities, such as Manchester and Leeds. I want to show that this spatial liberation is not exclusive to women who are young, single, privileged, and white. I am particularly interested in how women find privacy while in relationships, raising children, or living with disabilities.