Love (Re)Claimed | Portsmouth Pride at The Corner Collective | 16.05.25 - 18.05.25

A favourite banner of mine was in this group exhibition from Portsmouth Pride. Love Reclaimed celebrated love as an act of defiance, whether that be self-love, romantic, platonic or familial love, in a world where queer love is still being fought for.

Hannah Smith is My Religion, Banner (Paint and Posca Pen on blind slat with sequins), 2023

I show love for my friends through my work—by turning the things they say, or how I feel about them, into banners and T-shirts with bold, shouty phrases. My love language is shouty art.

Hannah Smith is My Religion is a banner that encompasses this love. Hannah is an icon—truly. One of my oldest friends, she was the first person to come out at our school, and after that, other girls followed her lead (or became her girlfriend). She has absolutely no fear. Once, she rode a BMX with no brakes down Portsdown Hill and had to use her feet to stop—burning holes in her trainers. She works as a prison officer, and when I asked if she ever gets scared when the riot alarm goes off, she just said, “There’s no time to be scared.” Amazing. She also built her garden decking from scratch using only YouTube tutorials. No prior DIY experience. As I said: an icon.

Image courtesy of IG@contenttomediauk

Alongside my banner, I sold Alpha Fucking Female prints at this exhibition. The design was in my usual hand painted caps, taken from a t-shirt I had made, originally as a joke, for my good friend Amelia (the original Alpha Female). I added gold foil strips to the prints to emphasise the glamour and respect required by an Alpha Female.

Other work pictured by -Instagram handles- @goblephotography @lh.tattoo @queerlcreated @bensaunders.art @ashleydavidjohn @rooabrook @flange @i.tell.amelia