The Visual Cultures of Greenham Common

Abstract

The Women’s Peace Camp at Greenham Common (1981–2000) was a women-only camp established in protest against nuclear proliferation and the Cold War ideology of deterrence that fuelled the arms race. The perimeter fence of the airbase was soon transformed into a permanent, if informal, gallery of protest, displaying banners and hosting a wealth of visual and material interventions which were documented by amateur and professional photographers, including the women-only Format Photographers Agency (1983–2003). The fence also became the target of regular breaches by activists to highlight the fragility of the nuclear military complex. Greenham women used a range of print media for communication with their networks and the recruitment of new supporters, including newsletters, posters, postcards, and leaflets, most of which were richly illustrated with original artwork. From an art-historical perspective, this material teems with visual iconographies, drawing on ancient myths and symbols that had been mobilised in women’s movements since the 1960s. In addition to the reclamation of witches and witches’ circles, spider webs were successfully exploited in craftivist performance and evoked in drawing, as a motif of solidarity, connectivity, and strength free from force.