For Jo Salter, the Lovely Lady is more that an an object, it is a symbol with multiple meanings. An Instagram post by Jo published on March 10, 2020 reproduced here with permission.
Do you find that sometimes an object becomes more than an object – a symbol of many meaningful things?
I was given this model of a lady spinning cotton as a gift at the International Conference ‘Globalisation of Khadi’ when I was a speaker there last year.
This week I was invited onto #bbcradiosuffolk by @journojon to chat in his imaginary pub 😃 (you can catch it on @bbcsounds ). I also had to bring a show and tell!
I decided to bring this lovely lady with me – she is not just a model but now a symbol too .
👩 the interview was on International Women’s Day. Much of the work I do with social enterprises is focused on female empowerment. Especially the Khadi fabric represented by this lady.
⚖️ We’ve just come to the end of Fairtrade Fortnight – a time for focusing on the injustices faced by many workers in the world who produce food and goods that we rely on.
🗺 Little did we know or appreciate it at the time but this conference in India happened just as the world started to change – lockdowns, fear and a new way of working. The model reminds me of the need to think globally even when confined. Out of sight must not be out of mind.
So she will sit in my office spinning her cotton. Reminding me of my trip and keeping me focused on work to be done!
What do you think of her? Do you have an object that symbolises something important to you?
Note:
A international conference on globalisation of khadi was organised by the Government of Rajasthan in January 2020. It brought together different perspectives.
We started publishing blogs on the conference about a year ago, Beginning with a blog by Jo Salter, ‘Fabric and Fine Wine’ . It will only be fitting to end the series of blogs on the conference with another blog by Jo. A blog on the ‘The Lovely Lady’ – an object which symbolises the conference for her.