making myself up all over again

making myself up all over again is an evening of readings curated by writer Alice Hattrick, bringing together their own work alongside that of Arifa Akbar, Naomi Pearce and Jamila Prowse.

The authors share an interest in weaving autobiography with historical narrative, and their writing moves fluidly between forms including autofiction, memoir, research-based practice and even murder mystery.

The readings take place within Very High Frequency, a commission by Hilary Lloyd that reflects on the legacy of television dramatist Dennis Potter (1935–1994). Although Potter was often reluctant to describe his work as autobiographical, it frequently bordered on autofiction – most notably in The Singing Detective (1986), which dramatises his childhood in the Forest of Dean and centres on a protagonist afflicted with the same chronic illness he experienced.

making myself up all over again looks to and expands upon key themes present in both the exhibition and Potter’s work, exploring illness, memory, loss of control, fantasy and beauty.

The title for the event is borrowed from Potter’s James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture on 27 August 1993, in which he discussed turning to a career in television following the onset of psoriatic arthropathy in the early 1960s.

About Arifa Akbar

Arifa Akbar is an author and the Guardian's chief theatre critic. Her latest book Wolf Moon: A Woman's Journey into the Night (Sceptre) is a cultural, social and sexual exploration of the night: who and what we find in it, why we fear it, and how it can seduce, transform and liberate. It was a BBC Radio Four Book of the Week this year. Her first book, Consumed: In Search of my Sister, a memoir about siblinghood, grief, illness and art, was shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards, PEN Ackerley Prize and Jhalak Prize, and it was longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize. She has been a journalist for almost three decades and was previously a literary editor at The Independent, where she also worked as a news reporter and arts correspondent.

About Alice Hattrick

Alice Hattrick is the author of Ill Feelings, a non-fiction book exploring contested illness, intimacy and mother-daughter relationships, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions in 2021. Their criticism has appeared in publications such as frieze magazine, Art Review and The White Review. Alice is the co-producer of Access Docs for Artists, made in collaboration with artists Leah Clements and Lizzy Rose. They are a lecturer at London College of Fashion and currently finishing a book on embroidery, ephemeral evidence and queer histories, due for publication in 2026.

About Naomi Pearce

Naomi Pearce is a writer living in West Wales. Her fiction, criticism and biography explore death, desire and not belonging. In 2023, she published her debut novel, Innominate, with MOIST books. Her writing on embodied archival practice is included in ‘Gestures: A Body of Work’, Manchester University Press and British Art Studies issue ‘Queer Art in Britain Since the 1980s’, both 2025. She teaches Interdisciplinary Practice at Aberystwyth University.

About Jamila Prowse

Jamila Prowse is an artist and writer. Informed by her lived experience of disability, mixed race ancestry and the loss of her father at a young age; her work is research driven and indebted to Black feminist and crip scholars. She is currently articulating through moving image, painting, photography, textiles and performance. Previous exhibitions and talks include TULCA Visual Arts Festival, (Galway, Ireland), Ormston House Gallery, (Limerick, Ireland), Somerset House, South London Gallery, Studio Voltaire (London, UK) and Hordaland Kunstsenter (Bergen, Norway). Her writing has appeared in Frieze, Art Monthly, British Journal of Photography and elsewhere.

Access

This takes place in the Gallery and is seated.

If you have any questions or need assistance with your visit, please feel welcome to contact us at +44 (0) 20 7622 1294 or info@studiovoltaire.org. Read Studio Voltaire's full access information here.

Image credit

Hilary Lloyd, Very High Frequency, 2025. Installation view at Studio Voltaire. Image courtesy of the artist, Sadie Coles HQ and Studio Voltaire. Credit Dominique Croshaw.