Louder than Words

Louder than Words brings together paintings and drawings by Walker that consider how we form opinions about people based solely on their appearance. Some of these works explore the motives behind, and the impact of police ‘stop and search’, highlighting and questioning the consequences and repercussions for individuals, including her son, who are often judged by the way they look.

Several works in this series are enlarged digital scans of police dockets issued to her son following’ stop and search’ occurrences. Over each scan Walker draws or paints the areas around Birmingham where these stop and searches took place, extending the classic portrait format beyond the body and into the landscape and into the places where her son was subjected to police scrutiny.

Louder than Words gives voice to Walker’s personal experience and frustration while interrogating, on a broader level, the deeper societal implications these decisions and judgements might induce or represent.