The Handbag Projectionist CUT/SLICE (2017 & 2018)

CUT/SLICE is a performance piece by The Handbag Projectionist. It follows the instructions of Cut (1964) by Yoko Ono, with the addition of a handmade mask, and was first performed at a fundraiser for the Penny Beale Memorial Fund as part of the Hastings Fringe Festival.

Follow this link to CUT/SLICE MASKED which shows the creation of the collaged mask worn by the performer.

The Penny Beale Memorial Fund was set up in 2005 by Penny Beale in memory of her daughter, who shared her name. Penny was killed in a savage attack by her partner in 2001 after months of emotional and physical abuse—sixteen years ago, aged thirty-one. Her murderer is now out of prison having served a life sentence of eleven years. However, Penny’s story is not unique, it follows a pattern that is repeated daily worldwide.

A recent report by the Office of National Statistics (for the year ending March 2016) aims to improve domestic abuse statistics, as well as analyse the way domestic abuse is dealt with at a local level in England and Wales.

The report shows that:
•    There were an estimated 2.0 million adults aged 16 to 59 who said they were a victim of domestic abuse in the last year.
•    Women were more likely to report having experienced domestic abuse than men.
•    Domestic abuse-related crimes recorded by the police accounted for approximately 1 in 10 of all crimes.
•    The majority of domestic abuse (78%) consisted of violence against the person offences.
•    There were a total of 432 domestic homicides recorded by the police in England and Wales, between April 2012 and March 2015. This represents 30% of all homicides where the victim was aged 16 and over during this time period. 27% of victims were male (117) and 73% of victims were female (315).