Gwen - MEMENTO Tote

This made-to-order high quality, reversible and oversized tote bag features a heavy weight 100% cotton organic canvas with distressed and frayed seams, printed with three striking artworks and one self-portrait of 19th-20th century Welsh artist, Gwen John.

Included is a matching oversized drawstring pouch for your umbrella, sunglasses, phone (or whatever you so desire!), as well as two fabric bookmarks and two slow-fashion advocacy patches to showcase your support of independent slow fashion. These items are made from the fabric offcuts and are included with the purchase of the tote ☺️

The MEMENTO collection is dedicated to remembering the remarkable women artists that history has overlooked.

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Gwen John (1876–1939): The Artist Who Demanded to Be Seen

"I paint a good deal, but I don't often get a picture done—that requires, for me, a very long time of a quiet mind"

Gwendolen Mary John was a Welsh painter whose quiet revolution challenged everything the art world expected from women. 

Working with a simple palette of ochres, greys, and muted blues, she created portraits of women that showed unconventional psychological depth. Her works could not be described as decorative society portraits, but rather studies of women in quiet contemplation, hands folded, gazes turned inward. Through her "female gaze," she transformed traditional portrait subjects into agents with their own deep and unknowable narratives.

Despite exhibiting in prestigious venues, Gwen John was systematically overshadowed during her lifetime. For decades after her death in 1939, Gwen John remained footnoted as "Augustus John's sister, but feminist art historians of the 1970s worked to uncover her true significance. Augustus himself had predicted this reversal: "In 50 years' time I will be known as the brother of Gwen John." He was right.

For me, Gwen John’s legacy embodies MEMENTO’s mission: to remember the brilliant women whose contributions were diminished by history, but whose artistic vision proved impossible to erase. 

I hope that in wearing her image and her beautiful artworks, you too will say “I see you, Gwen”.

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Designed and made by Meg in The Patch, Australia.  All megsmithmakes garments are Ethical Clothing Australia accredited and megsmithmakes is a proud member of Seamless Australia.