Haringey Hamster
An Residency and Exhibition about mental illness, masking, talking animals and feeling left behind
4–26 July | The All Good Bookshop, Turnpike Lane, London
This solo exhibition brings together work made over the last five years while recovering from BPD. It includes video works and livestreams from my flat, where I began to heal, singing to my cat, sleeping, and checking taps, lights and locks over and over before bed. These appear as long films and episodic works somewhere between EastEnders and a strange sitcom starring my cat and a shoe made from gelatin.
The exhibition also features Cats of Tottenham, the DIY web series I co-create with writer Will Stuart. Set in North London, it follows a group of eccentric friends trying to save the world from evil tech billionaires while navigating low-paid jobs, flat-sharing and everyday life. Made with handmade sets, broken dolls and improvised materials, the series combines sharp comedy with a lo-fi, slightly grotesque visual style.
At the centre of the exhibition is Haringey Hamster: my failed version of Jiminy Cricket, a reluctant moral guide, emotional support animal and artist who, much like me, doesn't really know what she's doing but keeps going anyway. During the exhibition, I will also perform as a human-sized hamster.
Surprising Haringey Hamster went viral on TikTok. She's become a small onlinesensation, although people are roasting her in the comments. I'm interested in leaninginto that and paying attention to how messy the internet is.
The original hamster comes from a place of recovering from mental illness. But unlike a hamster, I don't have a giant looking after me or meeting my needs, the way I would if Iowned a pet hamster. I have to build my own way through this life.
The hamster represents still needing support while also feeling like I have nothing to offer. That's why she sings a cheesy early-2000s song, badly and awkwardly, but keeps going anyway. It's about carrying on, even when it feels embarrassing, and trying regardless.