I'm Still Alive You Bastard2024
The words machine stitched onto the calico are followed by a date, and describe my preoccupations, thoughts and feelings for the duration of the Outside In Step Up Exploring Collections course. Intermingled with these words of mine, are the words (in purple) Valerie Potter wrote in thread in her piece called The Drowning Woman.

Whilst Potter shrouds the meaning of her text using short, almost poetic equivocations, following the lines of her surrealist thread drawings, my words are blunt, rooted in the moment, and machine stitched over a repeat print of a Peace Angel with a dove nestling on her shoulder.

The image of the Peace Angel and a Dove can be found seated facing east at the base of the Lewes War Memorial. Designed by Vernon March in 1922, I photographed and silkscreened the image circa 2010, and machine embroidered it using my Janome Atelier 3. The machine sewing was begun on the 30th May 2024 and was finished on the 19th July 2024.

The title of my work is attributed to Rose Knox-Peebles’ description of what she loves about Valerie Potter’s work. I made a short film of the making of the work which is accompanied by the sound-track of Rose describing why she bought Valerie Potter’s work for her collection.

I had an epiphany whilst examining time-lines on the course, to insert major events of my own life alongside those of the artist I had chosen to investigate, Valerie Potter. This worked especially well as Potter is not much older than I am. This notion, of inserting myself into the continuum, and positioning myself on a trajectory in the art world resulted in the way I chose to frame my response to Potter’s work - her words and mine; two female protagonists, floating in a man’s world.

I’M STILL ALIVE YOU BASTARD

I AM SO SAD 30.5.24 I AM STILL SAD 31.5.24 HOW CAN I TELL YOU NOT TO GO BACK? 1.6.24 I AM SO PROUD OF YOU 2.6.24 I AM SO GRUMPY 3.6.24 YOUR ELECTIONEERING DOESN’T SWAY ME RICH MAN 4.6.24 YOU’RE ALL SO FUCKING IMPORTANT 5.6.24 I TRANSFORM HATE INTO LOVE LOUISE BOURGEOIS 14.6.24 DON’T JUDGE ME BY MY HAIR COLOUR 2023 KIM’S HOUSE ONLY JESUS COMES BACK 14.6.24 “THE PATH I FOLLOW RELATIVE TO SOCIETY IS AN OBLIQUE ONE.” JEAN GENET 15.06.24 FUCK YOU FOR IGNORING ME 16.06.24 FLOWER OF MALICE WHEN MY BRAIN WAS SHARP I LACKED SELF ESTEEM AND PLATFORM 18.6.24 ALWAYS ON THE BACK FOOT 07.07.24 REJECTED BABIES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TOY TRUNK 08.07.24 I’M STILL ALIVE YOU BASTARD VALERIE POTTER BY ROSE KNOX-PEEBLES “I LOVE THE AGGRESSION IN HER WORK” 12.07.24 I DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD & I DON’T BELIEVE IN THE KING 14.07.24 THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS DUTY OF CARE. NO-ONE CARES. REALLY. NO-ONE CARES.15.07.24 THE MOSES ENIGMA. THE PLANT OF DEADLY INTENT. THE APOLOGETIC SUN. THE DROWNING WOMAN. FLOWER OF MALICE. FOREST OF FINGERS

ANDREA MINDEL

19.07.2024

I’m Still Alive You Bastard (front), 2024. Silkscreen on calico, machine stitched with cotton thread, 18cm x 58cm.

I’m Still Alive You Bastard (back), 2024. Silkscreen on calico, machine stitched with cotton thread, 18cm x 58cm.