“Weaver’s Woe” is a hand-built sculpture resembling an aged, contorted basket, symbolising the strain and wear of labour. This work is part of a series that critically explores the notion of “women’s work”—weaving, sewing, mending—practices often dismissed as mere domestic pastimes, yet fundamental to artistic production and the global economy.

By honouring craftswomen who have defied convention, Somers celebrates those who have expanded the boundaries of art. The sculpture, a metaphor for post-colonial extractive economies, reflects the exhaustion imposed by systems that exploit women’s labour, particularly in the Global South. The basket’s unravelling embodies the fragility of these structures, while highlighting the ongoing invisibility of this essential work.

In weaving together a critique of gendered labour exploitation, Somers uncovers the silenced narratives woven into our social fabric. The work invites us to revalue these practices, not as secondary, but as central to both art and society.