Sculpture: In the hands of the proletariat

A cobblestone from Fiona Jack's exhibition Our Red Aunt. The stone is smooth and dark, just the right size to fit in your hand, and has the phrase 'in the hands of the proletariat' engraved on the surface.

Polished stones marked with the words “in the hands of the proletariat” made for Glasgow Women’s Library by New Zealand-based artist Fiona Jack, the great grand-niece of Scottish activist and suffragette Helen Crawfurd.

Part of a larger installation in the ‘Our Red Aunt’ exhibition, where exhibition visitors were invited to take away one of the engraved stones.

Item Details

Date: 2018

Catalogue record: GWL-2019-70-2

Type of object:

Material: Stone

Size: Stones vary in size and shape - approx. 4cm (H) x 7cm (W) x 6cm (D)

Item Media

Item Images

A cobblestone from Fiona Jack's exhibition Our Red Aunt. The stone is smooth and dark, just the right size to fit in your hand, and has the phrase 'in the hands of the proletariat' engraved on the surface.
'In the hands of the proletariat', Our Red Aunt, Fiona Jack 2018
A cobblestone from Fiona Jack's exhibition Our Red Aunt. The stone is smooth and dark, just the right size to fit in your hand, and has the phrase 'in the hands of the proletariat' engraved on the surface.
A cobblestone from Fiona Jack's exhibition Our Red Aunt.

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References

Posts and pages from around the website which refer to this Collection Item

We Deserve a Medal: Militant Suffrage Activism

The fight for women's suffrage in the UK grew and gained momentum throughout the Victorian era. WSPU activists, known as suffragettes, engaged in all sorts of law-breaking activities to raise the profile of the movement. At the time, these actions were considered shocking and divided public opinion, but suffragettes remained resolute. Thousands were arrested, imprisoned and force-fed.