Artist and a former Miss Gscene, Vince Laws, has produced a series of DWP Deaths Make Me Sick shrouds, 14 of which will be on display at Cambridge Junction on Friday 26 and Saturday, April 27, 2019.
THE DWP Deaths Make Me Sick shrouds describe the circumstances of death of named people dealing with the DWP, and give more information about the current hostile environment for disabled people.
For example, the 6 in this photo read from left to right:
Elaine Morrall
Severely depressed, anorexic mother of 4 died alone, one afternoon, in a freezing flat after a Universal Credit cut. Elaine was told being in Intensive Care was not sufficient reason for failing to attend a UC interview. Stop U.C. Alliance – www.suca.org.uk
John Walker
Saddled with debt due to the bedroom tax. John took his own life. Dead People Don’t Claim!
Jodey Whiting
Missed a work capability assessment while very ill. Disability Benefits stopped. She took her own life.
To sign the petition for an Independent Inquiry into Deaths linked to the DWP, click here:
DWP Deaths Make Me Sick
Victoria Smith
Suffered agoraphobia + fibromyalgia, in constant pain. PIP re-assessed by Capita. “A pack of lies,” said her mother. Appeal turned down. Condition got worse. Admitted to hospital, where she died of a brain haemorrhage.
A week later a Tribunal decided she was eligible for PIP.
Dead People Don’t Claim – DWP SETS YOU FREE – 100 Deaths Every Day
While The Tories Lie, Ignore the Facts, & Cover-Up Coroners’ Reports. Dead People Don’t Claim.
For more information, click here:
Karen Sherlock
Multiple health issues. Found Fit For Work by Atos (now I.A.S.). Denied benefits. Fought long battle for E.S.A.. Got it. Month later died of a heart attack.
The DWP Deaths Make Me Sick shrouds were the backdrop to a live performance called A Very Queer Nazi Faust staged by Laws and 13 Norfolk based disability rights activists at Norwich Arts Centre in September 2018.
A Very Queer Nazi Faust was commissioned and supported by Unlimited, celebrating the work of disabled artists, with funding from Spirit of 2012.
In it, poet John Faust is suicidal. His benefits have been stopped without warning, the bailiffs are due to evict him, his dog is in the vets dying, his car needs a new clutch, and he can’t finish his poetic masterpiece while the voices inside his head torment him.
In despair, he throws himself off Beeston Bump, Norfolk’s highest peak, clutching ‘The Tragic True Life & Deserved Death of a Benefit Scrounger by Himself’, but Lucifer won’t let John drown because she loves his work and wants a bigger part.
To listen to the podcast free click here:
To view the DWP Deaths Make Me Sick FACEBOOK page, click here:
Images of the 25 shrouds made so far are on the page, with the text printed under them. The shrouds will be on display around the UK in 2019.
“I want to get them seen,” said Laws. “I feel the need to carry on screaming about the human rights abuses of this current Tory government. The shrouds are actually quite painful to make. I take breaks. They are very sad. But also very powerful because they are the truth.”
If you want to display some shrouds email Vince Laws at vincelaws@gmail.com
Vince Laws’ DWP Deaths Make Me Sick can be seen at Cambridge Junction on April 26 and 27 April as part of I’m Here, Where Are You?, a new arts festival celebrating disabled artists across theatre, comedy, dance and visual art.
For more information, click here:
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