Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
About our work
Alyce: Elaine and I are long-time friends and colleagues. As a criminologist, I am acutely aware of the importance of human rights, particularly as it relates to matters of criminal justice. In recent years I’ve become increasingly interested in how we can draw attention to important social justice issues through the medium of craft.
Elaine: I research, write and teach on subjects related to human rights, and for many years have been an active advocate for children’s rights and social justice with the NSW Youth Justice Coalition.
Alyce and Elaine: We decided it would be good to express the Article in an accessible contemporary format, which is why we chose a social media-style presentation using emoticons from Twitter. We think this design more broadly acknowledges one of the benefits of social media: the ability to bring forward the voices and perspectives of those who may previously have been overlooked or ignored by society.
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About us
Dr Alyce McGovern is an Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, and keen crafter. Born and raised in south-west Sydney, Alyce was inspired to cross-stitch, embroider, and sew by her mother, who is an experienced and talented crafter in a range of different media. In recent years, Alyce has married this interest in craft with her scholarly interest in matters of criminal justice. She has researched widely in the area of crime and media, and is currently researching yarn-bombing and craftivism from a criminological perspective.
Elaine Fishwick was born in Manchester, England, and migrated to Australia in 1988. The north of England has a proud tradition of radical politics and of craft: it is where the weaving and spinning industries developed and where the Pankhursts began the suffragette movement. The history of art and craft to express views and to make a stand have always been strong in the north.
With such history flowing into the water and onto the land, Elaine has been involved in rights and justice campaigning from her teens. Her mum taught her to knit when she was little and she has always dabbled in knitting and needlework of some sort. As her kids have grown older, she is able to spend more time doing crafty things as well as gardening, which she loves. She has just finished a cross-stitch style miniature based on the landscape of the Peak District, having been inspired by being back in the north of England for a few months and from seeing the work of her sister who is a really creative sewer—making wild pieces of embroidered art. There’s a needlepoint felt project in the making too, using local sheep’s wool from different breeds.
Other blocks about Article 12
