A Fish Wives' Tale

About

A FISH WIVES’ TALE

No 11 Avenue Studios
Holly Froy, Harriotte Hodson and Chica Seal 07.02.19 - 10.02.19

A fish wife, a fish fag or a fish lass is a woman who sells fish. In context we are women who are selling art!

A fish wives tale is a superstitious urban legend passed down by older women to younger generations. Painting to us represents the tales of our lives so far and our role to continue the tradition of making up things that we believe are of importance.

Fish wives were notoriously loud and foul mouthed, one reason for their outspokenness is that their wares were highly perishable and so lost value if not sold quickly. In our current environment of living and making art work in London we draw confidence from these women of the past to continue with our careers. At a time where we are bound by the practical and at times doom and gloom, perhaps a fish wives tale (our paintings) can provide momentary enlightenment or at the very least some colour. A bit of wishful thinking..

Our work is predominantly painted and this messy practice is something we revel in. These days a fish wives tale is more commonly used when someone is having you on or telling a fib.
We believe theres something to be said for these fish wives tales. Painting or picture making is essentially a made up thing, a 2d object pertaining to another world or a port hole through which to uncover new ideas or share a common experience. We believe in a way thats what the fish wives’ tales do. Although their stories are bound up in myth and far fetched gossip/rumours, they can touch on the true and gritty.

Waving a flag for the nonsensical and the impractical. Bring your best fish wives tale!

No 11 Avenue Studios.
Contact: fishwivestale@outlook.com