South London Women Artists April 2014 | Page 8

invited by Julie Bennett Dawn French Dawn French BAFTA award-winning comedienne and actress. Acclaimed for her partnership with Jennifer Saunders, she has repeatedly broken down barriers for female comediennes in the UK. I chose her because as well as making me roar with laughter, a predominant part of her work has been to parody the role of celebrities within society. As the celebrification of society is a question I explore within my own practice, I find Dawn’s spoofs both humorous and a source of inspiration. I also admire how Dawn has championed the ‘big is beautiful’ attitude and argued that fat women can be both sexy and happy with their fuller figures. South London Women Artists I’m Inside, Ring The Bell 9