“I’ll print on paper and slap them on a wall. There's a connection between the work and political activism and advocacy that’s been a long tradition in street art.”
The Backyard Bus Residency
Jessica Caldas
Jessica Caldas used her 2014 residency The Backyard Bus residency, established by Emma Cother, in Newcastle Australia to understand the issues surrounding domestic violence. She created public artworks in different spaces around the city using data collected from support organisations for victims and printmaking using a wallpaper motif.
She met domestic violence survivor and Newcastle's 2014 Woman of the Year Helen Cummings who wrote the book, Blood Vows. It details the six years of emotional abuse she endured while married to Hunter doctor Stuart Wynter. Wynter went on to murder his second wife and their toddler daughter before killing himself. Caldas also uses quotes from Cummings book, Blood Vows.
'After the Honeymoon is Over' A piece by Jessica Caldas. Image from New Castle Herald.