Thompson: The piece which means a lot to me

Posted by Thompson Hall • 2 months ago

A rectangular painting with a border of money painted around it in green with a blue background. The main body of the painting is purple with circular cartoon faces painted within it in deep red and cream. These have sad faces painted on them. There is a curved orange banner in the middle of the painting with the words in capital letters, 'Universal Credit' painted in black. There is a pale blue circle painted above that with a brown book painted in, with the writing 'Fit for Work' on it and a painted curved banner just above it inside the circle which also has 'fit for work' painted on it.

I chose the Universal Credit painting I did in 2018 to talk about for our first meeting with the group because it was a very personal piece.

I was made to look at how the benefit system treats people and how unfairly it discriminates some hidden disabilities. This painting highlights the fact of when I went for a work assessment to be asked questions about my disability. It resulted in me loosing my benefits and having to appeal with the help of a social worker. It took a long time for my benefits to be reinstated and it really affected me in how I lived my everyday life as its the only source of income I had.

I wanted to make paintings about my experiences and to highlight these issues. It made me become more political and socially aware.