During the summer of 2018, I was invited to be the first ever Artist-in-Residence at Double Jab, an amateur boxing club in Deptford, South London. With no previous experience of boxing myself, and limited knowledge of its culture, I immersed myself in the club’s activities, from attending White Collar matches, joining in recreational boxing sessions, interviewing members and drawing knee-deep in the visceral atmosphere of the training rooms.
‘Me/We’ is a collection of comics based on interviews with five members that I spoke to during my time at Double Jab. A club champion, a coach, an anthropologist and two aspiring young boxers all share their journeys to the ring, exploring themes of mental health, gender politics and the realities of street crime, all with their own personal tales of transformation. Alongside observational drawings of everyday life at the club, I enjoyed interpreting every story in a way that is visually unique to each individual, representing the diversity within that makes up the whole.
The project ended with an exhibition at Deptford Does Art, where the local community, including its boxers, artists and MP Vicky Foxcroft mingled!
Book and prints available through my Etsy shop
