One of the most impressive aspects of the Colossive Press Colossive Cartographies series is the way in which they can explore big ideas or hugely important themes in such a compact physical space and yet do so with such depth and power. Julian Payne’s ‘Women’s Work’ is #61 in the run and looks to draw our attention to the way in which the role of women has been erased not simply from history (something the Broken Frontier audience is no doubt already aware of) but also from our conception of life in prehistory as well.
The Colossive Cartographies don’t always contain comics work within their fold-out zine format but ‘Women’s Work’ most certainly fits into the category of sequential art. Payne’s 8-panel comic is perhaps best summed up by dialogue from the story quoted on the Colossive Press site. “Who nurtured the roots and grasses as you waved your bloodied spear?” it states, reapplying the idea of toxic masculinity to a millennia-gone emerging societal structure.
Payne depicts the foundational role of women in the slow transition of hunter-gatherer cultures to agricultural ones with a quietly angry protest that juxtaposes the nurturing and constructive work of women in farming, pottery and textiles with the violent pursuits of men; the former depicted in calming and subtler hues with the latter soaked in blood red colouring. The parallels to repeating contemporary patterns are, of course, obvious ones.
‘Women’s Work’ is inspired by Graeber and Wengrow’s The Dawn of Everything. A book into which this thoughtful piece acts as the perfect gateway for those interested in learning more.
Julian Payne (W/A) • Colossive Press, £2.00
Review by Andy Oliver