Derry Factory Girls drawings to be showcased at Void

An exhibition by the artist behind Derry's long-awaited Factory Girls sculpture based around her drawings and recordings of local factory women in Derry in the early 1990s and 2000s will be launched in the city tomorrow.
Some of Louise Walsh's drawings of local factory women in 1991.Some of Louise Walsh's drawings of local factory women in 1991.
Some of Louise Walsh's drawings of local factory women in 1991.

Louise Walsh’s drawings will be unveiled at Void gallery on Patrick Street on Friday afternoon.

The exhibition, entitled, ‘Rattling the Bars’, forms part of Void’s current project called ‘A Stitch in Time’.

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The project is a multi-disciplinary, contemporary art project which looks at the role of female factory workers in Derry.

Artist Louise Walsh with some of her designs for the sculpture.Artist Louise Walsh with some of her designs for the sculpture.
Artist Louise Walsh with some of her designs for the sculpture.

Rattling on the Bars will be launched on Friday from 4pm to 5pm.

Louise Walsh spent a month in 1991 in the Patrick Street building that now houses the Void Gallery building when it was a functioning shirt factory called The City Factory.

She drew the female factory workers as they worked at various stages of the shirt making process.

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In 2006 and 2013 she also recorded conversations with Shirt factory workers.

A spokesperson for Void said: “These recordings uncover the unique perspectives of skilled and vibrant Derry workers, highlighting their creative and story-telling talents, engagement with the special impact that the shirt factory industry has had on the development of Derry.

“Many muse upon the importance of this building and how their lives and the society of Derry was shaped by the many facets of the Shirt Factories.”

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