Tracey Moffatt (by BrooklynMuseum)

“I didn’t even stop to wait for the right to make art, I just did it”

“…we know most Black actresses were forced to play the maid. And what I’m trying to say with ‘Lip’ is that, yes, unfortunately a lot of these brilliant women actresses were forced to play the maid, but what a good job they did.”

Moffat usually really avoids attempts to label her work by it’s recurring themes of race and sexual politics, but she does half seriously answer questions here about feminism, Hollywood, race and her classic short film Lip. Plus she cites beating up her brother as a feminist act.

Janina Green “Maid in Hong Kong” 2008

Green’s photographs are a moving witness to the global flow of workers.  In Hong Kong, labour shortages and the breakdown of the extended family system have led to the demand for foreign servants -“the help”.  In Hong Kong the majority of foreign servants or maids come from the Philippines.  Since 2003, Green has journeyed to Hong Kong to photograph the public congregation of Filipino maids. Green’s process of hand-coloured, large format, black-and-white prints is in direct response to the experience and the fascination with this all-female community and its resilience.

Janina Green Maid in Hong Kong 2009 hand coloured gelatin silver prints courtesy of the artist & M.33