Darling Diaphanous at Glasgow Women’s Library presented a body of work that reflects on the intimacy, desire and longing that pervades queer feminist history. Drawing on materials from the Lesbian Archive at Glasgow Women’s Library, this exhibition was created through processes that value slowness and care, such as embroidery, printmaking, and collaboration. Through these methods, writing becomes a form of touch where language shape-shifts into a bodily, tactile presence.

Developed initially during a residency with Cove Park in February 2025, with support from the Arts Council of Ireland, the project was shaped through ongoing dialogue with Glasgow Women’s Library.

The exhibition premiered a new video work titled Love Through Letters, developed in collaboration with ten participants scattered across the globe: Rachel Jardine, Eve Jeffreys, Claude Lajous, Sophie Mak-Schram, Derbhla McDermott, Keely McLavin, Dayna McLeod, Jo Reid, Eleanor Saunders, and Carolyn Wilson. This collaborative video invites voices that have lived in the archive to enter into an active conversation with voices of the present. This collaborative journey was documented in a handmade zine that accompanied the video. 

The exhibition coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Lesbian Archive at GWL. To further mark the occasion, I facilitated a zine-making workshop during the opening of the exhibition that explored material from and relating to the archive.

Photography by Lauren McDougall and Justina Solomon Buwah.