“The art works selected not only deal with various types of abuse, but also focus on the processing of trauma and on healing, especially as they are all personal projects.

“I believe that amplifying their voices through the art they create provides a better understanding of the issue than relying solely on the media’s stories of celebrities facing abuse, police reports, and statistical data.”

Miranda Gavin

Gaslighting is a group art exhibition showcasing the work of artists who have had direct experience of domestic abuse. The resulting exhibition is a selection of personal work on this theme that includes photography, film, animation, performance, poetry and painting.

The exhibition’s title, Gaslighting, refers to a form of emotional abuse that can lead a person to question their sanity. This is a common type of domestic abuse that has been experienced by some of the artists participating in the exhibition.

The work by the artists who originally took part can be seen in the Art section of this website. They are Tee Chandler, Miranda Gavin, Lidia Lidia, Mooncoin, Laura Noble, Ellen Nolan, and Susan Young.

Each artist’s perspective is unique, and the creative strategies used vary, but the lived experience of abusive power and control in the domestic context of intimate relationships gives brave and vital insights into the experience of ordinary people. All the artists included have survived, but some—mostly women—do not. At its core, this exhibition is a call to action and a space of activism, education, and hope.

The exhibition was originally supported and hosted online by the Socially Engaged Art Salon (SEAS) Brighton in January 2021.

Artist and activist Miranda Gavin both curates and contributes work and in so doing highlights creative approaches that combine media and collapse boundaries between the public and the private.

For some of the artists, this is the first time they have made the series public, so the use of pseudonyms offers protection.

The shortlisted poster designs from an open-call competition aiming to raise awareness of domestic violence during Covid-19, referred to as the Shadow Pandemic by the UN, can be viewed under the Graphics section on this site.