Elizabeth Tuck
Elizabeth Tuck (she/her) holds a Bachelor of Arts (hons) in Human Rights, Political Science, and Great Books from St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada; an MSc in Comparative Social Policy from the University of Oxford; and is currently completing her LLM in Human Rights Law from Oxford Brookes University. Originally hailing from Newfoundland and Labrador, Elizabeth is involved in a number of organisations working for gender equity, including Girl Guides of Canada, GirlguidingUK, Plan Canada, the Ontario Council for International Cooperation, and Fora: Network for Change. Elizabeth proudly chairs Fora's Rise on Boards steering committee, which places young women and gender diverse people from across Canada on governance boards in their communities. Elizabeth is also an avid hiker, reader, dancer, and Aunt to three brilliant nieces.
Entangled Threads: We Live for Each Other
The Rhodes Foundation has enabled Elizabeth Tuck to develop her practice and be part of a community. She says this has been an invaluable experience, in which she has been challenged on a fundamental level and grown as a person.
This artwork represents Elizabeth and Nicola Green’s shared belief in our responsibility to others. The choice of text “We Live for Each Other” encapsulates the philosophy that drives Elizabeth’s work and practice. This artwork highlights the importance of difference within community by positioning collectivism as a driving force in creating more equitable societal structures.
This is reflected in the choice of medium in which the interlacing knitted yarn represents the connecting strands which bind people together. Beyond the utilitarian, knitting is a social tradition which is deeply entrenched within communities. Throughout history knitting circles have become hubs of activism and progressive causes.
Tapestry: Beothuk
The Newfoundland tartan holds personal significance for Elizabeth and she is proud of her Newfoundland heritage. Tartan is closely linked to positive expressions of
identity construction, clan and kinship. However, Tartan has been exported around the world, in the clothing of enslaved people, the uniforms of enforced missionary schools, or in the British East India Company’s monopoly in Madras. Elizabeth wants to draw attention to the colonial connections in this pattern, including the extinction of the Beothuk Indigenous people from Newfoundland and the island’s connections to the British Empire.
Tartan can also signify defiance and disruption, from Jacobite rebellion to Vivian Westwood. The use of Tartan in this artwork is designed to be subversive, to initiate dialogue on colonialism, and the entangled stories of our patterns and interwoven histories.