As a raw material, milk’s biography runs the length of human existence. Milk has contributed to the development of civilisation as we know it, with some of the earliest human artefacts including vessels containing residues of cow’s milk. In Egyptian mythology, the Milky Way was viewed as a pool of cow's milk, while the Greek name for the Milky Way (Γαλαξίας or Galaxias) stems from the Greek word for milk (γάλα, gala). Through milk, new life is sustained. This liquid, the elixir of life, is responsible for the continued existence of our living world. 

Titled Feminised Protein, a term first coined by American writer, feminist, and animal rights advocate Carol J Adams in her 1990 book The Sexual Politics of Meat to address the exploitation of non-human reproductive cycles to produce food on a mass scale, the project exists in dialogue with themes of sustainability, history, nature and motherhood. Milk, a substance tied intimately to the nourishment and labour of mammals, symbolises both sustenance and sacrifice. Its industrial processing obscures the visceral realities of production, much like societal structures have often abstracted and devalued the contributions of women and female-identifying individuals. By shaping milk into bodily, organic forms, these sculptural works critique systems of commodification whilst celebrating the material and the bodies it represents. Patriarchal narratives are challenged by making visible the history entwined in acts of creation, sustenance, and care. By using waste milk, the sanitised nature of the dairy industry is exposed, drawing attention to the exploitation of both natural resources and bodies—human and non-human.

The idea behind Feminised Protein first came from research into pre-industrial materials. Long before plastics existed, milk was used as a building material. One example can be found at Alfriston Clergy House in Sussex, a mediaeval timber-framed hall house built in 1350 featuring a rare chalk and sour milk floor used as an early form of cement. By revisiting and adapting little-known historical processes, the work connects our past, present and future.

Adopting a process-led approach to design and making, traditional techniques are evolved to invent new ways of working. Moulds are sewn from deadstock fabric, mimicking traditional uses of cheesecloth for setting cheese. Waste milk is sourced from a raw organic dairy farm in Sussex. Since the farm is very small with less than 40 cows, the material is finite, generated from the separation process used to make cream. By repurposing the disposed-of fluid and giving it tangible form, the aim is to turn something perishable into something enduring. Through Feminised Protein, value is re-assigned to a forgotten material which would otherwise be discarded as waste by making fine objects which will last forever.

The question of how to contain a living, flowing form is answered through fabric moulds which allow the material to swell while staying free from constraints. Just as milk sustains life, the act of sewing speaks to preservation and care. Accepting the properties and idiosyncrasies of the material, this casting technique allows for pieces to retaining a sense of fluidity. When the liquid dries to solid, from soft to stone-like consistency, the fabric is peeled off. As seams and stitches are delicately imprinted onto the swollen surfaces of the tender, feminine sculptural forms, the memory of fabric remains, a permanent reminder of the materials’ living, flowing liquid origins.