Instructions Not Included

(September 2023 – March 2025)

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Instructions Not Included was a collaborative arts

project exploring how women and girls experience

ageing through the transformation of pre-loved

swimming costumes.

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The project began after watching a local aqua

aerobics class. I found myself wondering about the

women in the pool—their lives, experiences, and

how they felt about growing older.

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Age is rarely celebrated in our contemporary

society, which values youth and beauty over

accumulated wisdom and experience.

 

Swimming costumes became both the material and

the metaphor. Like a second skin, they reveal and

conceal the body. Using donated costumes, rather

than participants' own, encouraged contributors to

respond to their thoughts and feelings about

ageing rather than personal memories associated

with a particular garment.

 

The first exhibition, held in Bristol in May 2024,

brought together 77 transformed swimming

costumes and two knitted swimming hats

created by 64 women and girls from across the UK.

 

Contributors ranged in age from 14 to over 80,

with some making the work together in community

groups, forming new friendships through the

project.

 

Alongside each costume were the contributors'

reflections. Together, the works revealed a rich and

varied picture of ageing.

 

While concerns about body image crossed

generations, younger contributors  reflected on

identity, consent, and expectations, while older

women described self-acceptance, resilience,

friendship, loss, and the freedom that can

accompany later life.

 

Above all, the project celebrated the diversity of

women's experiences, recognising both the

challenges of ageing and the gratitude, humour,

connection, and resilience that emerged

throughout the conversations.

 

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