Hannah Rose Thomas

Tuesday 11th November - Sunday 23rd November, The Plot café, Tuesday to Friday 8.30am - 4pm, Saturday 10am - 4pm, Sunday 10am - 3pm

Studio 5 tenant Hannah is a British artist who has just completed her PhD at the University of Glasgow, a scholarship with UNESCO. She has a BA in Arabic and History from Durham and an MA from the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Art in London, where she specialised in early Renaissance and iconography painting techniques.

Hannah Rose Thomas presents her stunning portrait paintings of Yazidi women who escaped ISIS captivity, Rohingya women who fled violence in Myanmar, and Nigerian women who survived Boko Haram violence, alongside portraits and stories of Afghan, Ukrainian, Uyghur, and Palestinian women.

These portraits are a visual testimony not only of war and injustice but also of humanity and resilience.

Thomas uses techniques of traditional sacred art – early Renaissance tempera and oil painting and gold leaf – to convey the sacred value of each of these women in spite of all that they have suffered. This symbolic restoration of dignity is especially important considering the stigma surrounding sexual violence.

Long after the news cameras have moved on to the next conflict, this book shines a spotlight on the ongoing work of healing and restoration in some of the most vulnerable and marginalised communities around the world.