Gigi Downey

Holding a Heart in Artifice at the Nottingham Contemporary exhibition has left a strong impression on its visitors, evoking a range of reactions and interpretations. While some viewers may have found themselves disoriented by the absence of traditional artworks, others have embraced the conceptual approach of London artist Abbas Zahedi. For me, it proved to be a bewildering and unsatisfying experience, leaving much to be desired.

Pleasure Little Treasure by Elina Alminas – known as Sasha from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga – is an autobiographical account of growing up at the very first strip club in post-Soviet Estonia. She takes us through the struggles of post-Soviet states in the 90s from the shortage of consumer goods at the supermarkets, the rule of the Russian mafia and the introduction of post-Soviet countries to capitalism to patriarchy, toxic masculinity and growing up under the male gaze.

One simple wish. The wish to walk at night with earphones in and listen to music is a wish that many women may have. It seems a silly and mundane every day action, but it robs you of a vital sense, hearing. And that is dangerous at night when visibility is low, and the streets are not crowding with life. Feeling safe is a right everyone should have, and yet, in the UK that right often doesn’t exist, especially for women. Every year, we hear about another case where a woman was a victim.