
Laura Dee Milnes, The Making of Her (2018). Photo: Oskar Proctor.
MA Sculpture Degree Show 2018, Royal College of Art
An installation, comprising elements from the span of Laura Dee Milnes’ practice, including moving image, performance, object and image, and centred on a performance to video (which you can view below), NOTES ON RAGE: A Public Address, in which a female representative delivers a text from behind a lectern. The text can be read here. The Making of Her is a reflection on 2018, a growing feeling of unrest, dissatisfaction, and the artist’s attempt to find a voice that represents her and those she identifies with.
Throughout the degree show, at various intervals, the installation was activated by performance, including daily readings of chapters from her book, The Making of Her, 2018, as well as a finale performance by Laura’s band, Sweet Heave. The book (which is 111 pages long, consists of poetry, prose and illustrations) was compiled in the lead up the the exhibition and completed in situ within the installation, with Laura editing, writing and illustrating in between readings and meeting with visitors; it was very much influenced by these conversations and interactions, which often centred on shared experiences of feeling silenced, oppressed or enraged. It can be pre-ordered by following this link and registering your interest so that you will receive an email when the first copies are available to buy.
Following the MA Sculpture Degree Show, an element of The Making of Her was shown at the conference, From Violence to a Place of Power, organised by NoVo Foundation, with a programme of artworks curated by Charlotte Jarvis.
Laura Dee Milnes, The Making of Her, 2018. Photo: Oskar Proctor.
Laura Dee Milnes, The Making of Her, 2018. Photo: Oskar Proctor.
Laura Dee Milnes, The Making of Her (detail – including Pieces and Headless She), 2018. Photo: Oskar Proctor.
Laura Dee Milnes, The Making of Her (detail, NOTES ON RAGE), 2018. Photo: Oskar Proctor.
Laura Dee Milnes, The Making of Her (detail – including Pieces and Headless She), 2018. Photo: Oskar Proctor.
Laura Dee Milnes, The Making of Her (detail of NOTES ON RAGE: A Public Address), 2018. Photo: Oskar Proctor.
Laura Dee Milnes, The Making of Her (detail of NOTES ON RAGE: A Public Address), 2018. Photo: Oskar Proctor.
Laura Dee Milnes, The Making of Her (detail featuring NOTES ON RAGE Poster and portfolio of original illustrations), 2018. Photo: Oskar Proctor.
Laura Dee Milnes, The Making of Her (detail of NOTES ON RAGE: A Public Address), 2018. Photo: Oskar Proctor.
Laura Dee Milnes, Notes On Rage A: Public Address (video still) 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, The Making of Her (production shot), 2018
Sweet Heave’s performance within The Making of Her, 2018
Sweet Heave’s performance within The Making of Her, 2018
Aftermath of Sweet Heave’s performance within The Making of Her, 2018
Aftermath of Sweet Heave’s performance within The Making of Her, 2018

Extract from NOTES ON RAGE: A Public Address
Original illustrations from The Making of Her:
Laura Dee Milnes, Portrait of a Woman on the Edge, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Vertigo, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Private View, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Sex Shame, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Mirror, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, She’s Tight, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Female Gaze, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, DIY Gynaecology, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Drag, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, I Cut Myself Up and Rearrange, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Remedial Massage, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Lifecast, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Floatation, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Get Your Own Back, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Switch, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, La Petite Mort, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, Self-realisation, 2018
Laura Dee Milnes, The Artist in Her Studio, 2018
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