APT Gallery, Deptford, London

Linda Aloysius presented a series of new sculptures in a solo exhibition titled New Model Army; Invisible Labour at APT Gallery. The discussion initially revolved around whether the sculptures were figures, with most people agreeing that they were anthropomorphic in scale and form. After some observations and debate, we arrived at the consensus that they were female figures in various poses – which was confirmed by the wall-mounted photographs of the figures which accompanied some of them. There was uncertainty about whether they were arranged in a cohesive group, or as individuals. The title of the exhibition lead to speculation about the nature of an “army” and in what sense the figures might embody invisible labour. The group felt that as the figures were probably female, this was a reference to women's overlooked domestic and emotional labour that is still the backbone of capitalist economies.

Linda Aloysius completed her doctoral research at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2017.

Her practice-based research draws from her life-long, intimate connection with hands-on making and her personal experiences as a single mother. Originally emerging from a working-class background, Aloysius has defied longstanding, structural inequalities to combine paid employment, motherhood and artistic practice, all the while navigating the fine art higher education landscape and its various politics and possibilities.

The works in Aloysius' ongoing series New Model Army are generated through her year-long residency in The Ryder Project Space at A.P.T. The New Model Army is a working one, aiming to investigate and combat the historical inequalities experienced by women whilst celebrating women's strength in overcoming adversity.

www.lindaaloysius.com