'Mending Clothes'

This print draws attention to the plight of the poor during the post-war period. It was common in the 1950s for elderly women to work as seamstresses, such as the figure depicted in this print. They survived on meagre earnings from mending clothes and were often found sitting along five-foot walkways with their baskets. This image was inspired by modern woodcuts from China that highlighted the common people’s social and economic distress.