Initial discussions were incredibly thought provoking, sat in the Periodicals Rooms after work Chloe definitely had a lot of questions - which not only were important to her but became incredibly relevant when justifying the event to ourselves, giving myself and Megan the oportunity to think through a whole new framework:

- Why had we chosen that particular journal (of all the journals in the Periodicals Room)?
- What we thought of ‘Spare Rib’.
- Why was ‘Spare Rib’ important?
- What made ‘Spare Rib’ relevant to today?
- Why it was important to create this event within the context of The Feminist Library?

Alongside what felt like hundreds of other questions - it was interesting working with Chloe on her research as for the first time we had the opportunity to start talking about the project and our research outside of one another.

A few weeks after our initial discussion with Chloe, Megan and I were sat side-by-side on a dark Wednesday evening in the Periodicals Room again watching a run though the week before the event. I felt goosebumps watching an artist who not only complimented everything we’d been saying to one another but revitalised it, twisted it and threw out there ideas which perfectly chimed with concerns that rang true today, creating a ‘what if’ moment which my mind had never thought to go to before.

Working for the Tate Library and Archive department I’m always interested in how artists interact with Library or Archive collections - how they re-imagine them and re-work them to make it not only relevant to today’s discourse, but - in the case of Chloe’s performance - highlighting the positive intersectional aspects of ‘Spare Rib’ rubbing the tone of the magazine against the frustrations we still felt today.

Chloe came up with something which not only completely fascinated us, captivating our imagination, but reflected on the magazine through a hyper realistic, optimistic, witty and so undeniably refreshing approach. Chloe re-presented the past as a fictional realm of possibility and hope - doing so in a matter of fact manner which crafted a space that seemed more realistic and plausible the further the performance went.

After the performance finished it seemed odd to think back to what actually happened in the past, to think through how it could all have been so different and how ‘When Things Happen’ they transform the narrative of the future. Of course hindsight is a wonderful tool, but Chloe has masterminded it in a unique and emotional way which allows the audience a possibility to engage with decisions that aren’t too far-fetched, this is because these decisions are being made by Feminists up and down the country and all over the World and by highlighting those choices we maybe come to realise that change is represented by the people most affected.