Abstract
The Floor Flag is a design research artefact by Sally Sutherland, exhibited at Woodend Gallery in Scarborough from 21 March to 24 May 2025 as part of Nurture, an exhibition curated by Crescent Arts. Supported by Arts Council England and In Certain Places at the University of Central Lancashire, Nurture explores themes of motherhood and caregiving through diverse artistic and creative practices.
Developed in collaboration with infant feeding activists, The Floor Flag is a movable, adaptable space designed to foster intergenerational connection, listening, and reflection on diverse experiences of infant feeding. Drawing inspiration from protest textiles, feminist activism, and social justice movements, it serves as both a material intervention and a participatory tool. Movable words—prompts contributed by infant feeding activists—act as stepping stones for conversation and reflection, inviting engagement with the often unseen and undervalued emotional and physical labour of caregiving.
This work is part of Sutherland’s AHRC-funded PhD research at the University of Brighton, which investigates how design shapes and perpetuates maternal and global health inequalities. The Floor Flag challenges dominant narratives around caregiving by centring embodied experiences and alternative ways of knowing, offering a space for collective reflection, repair, and imagining new futures for feeding.
Developed in collaboration with infant feeding activists, The Floor Flag is a movable, adaptable space designed to foster intergenerational connection, listening, and reflection on diverse experiences of infant feeding. Drawing inspiration from protest textiles, feminist activism, and social justice movements, it serves as both a material intervention and a participatory tool. Movable words—prompts contributed by infant feeding activists—act as stepping stones for conversation and reflection, inviting engagement with the often unseen and undervalued emotional and physical labour of caregiving.
This work is part of Sutherland’s AHRC-funded PhD research at the University of Brighton, which investigates how design shapes and perpetuates maternal and global health inequalities. The Floor Flag challenges dominant narratives around caregiving by centring embodied experiences and alternative ways of knowing, offering a space for collective reflection, repair, and imagining new futures for feeding.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Size | 250mm x 250mm |
| Publication status | Published - 2025 |
| Event | Nurture: An exhibition about motherhood and caregiving - Woodend Gallery, Scarborough, United Kingdom Duration: 21 Mar 2025 → 24 Mar 2025 https://www.crescentarts.co.uk/whats_on/new-exhibition-nurture/ |
Keywords
- AHRC Designstar
- design research
- nurture
- public breastfeeding
- infant feeding
- breastfeeding
- chestfeeding
- design research for change
- feminist design research
- sustainable design